Virtual Sacrifices
by SilverWolf-Ryuki
Summary: Happiness is short, especially when one is sepparated with all their just reunited friends in an unknown virtual world. Kai struggles as he and his 'friends' try to go against Voltaire's plan. Will they succeed? Or die in the process? KaiMariam [hiatus]
1. Old Friends Come Back

Chapter I 

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, or the show. But I do claim to be the first to write of Kai and Mariam on fanfiction.net.

---

It was a usual day of school for the blade breakers. Everyone, especially Kai, was extremely grumpy. The mob of fans did not help either. It was, after all, months after the win of the first place, but it seems people's memories are not as bad as they seem.

Kai, as usual, was bothered by his mob of fan girls.

"Kai? You've got company!" Max said in a cheerfully singing voice. 

"Kai can I _please_ have your autograph?" an anxious girl about 13 asked Kai. Her eyes shined with tears, and her grin so wide it might break her face. "You are my idol I love your scarf, and your Beyblade! I watch you every day on TV when ever you are on!"

"Go bother Tyson instead…He was the one who made the win…" Kai growled and stomped away until there was a safe distance between him and the girl. His white scarf flowing behind him and his hair moved with the wind. The girl just stood there and blinked, not knowing what just happened. Then it hit her, and her bottom lip started to quiver.

"KAI! That wasn't very nice." Ray frowned at him, only to get a grunt and the cold shoulder.

"I told you don't bother on him, he's just a grumpy little jerk." Tyson said loudly. 

"Well, I guess old habits die hard…" Kai smirked and walked away. 

"Lets just hurry up and go to school." Kenny sighed. "I don't want to be late AGAIN Tyson…"

---

Kai sat at his desk, staring into space, as usual. The heat in the air was so thick; you can almost cut it with a knife. The sky was an unusual blue, as if it had been painted. The blue was so perfect, that it seemed almost as if the color was fake. A gentle pinch of a breeze flew in of the open window. Kai closed his eyes as the wind played with his two-toned hair. The gentle breeze fought against the heat of the summer. He was just about to put on his Walkman until something the teacher said caught his attention.

"…The test results were, as I said before, horrible. You must all do better…oh yes, before I forget, today we will be expecting some new students. They say that they used to live in this town but you kids, who knows..." The teacher said in a bored tone, then she sighed. It seems the weather was getting to her as well as everyone else. "Their names…well, they'll tell you when they get here…if they ever do…" The teacher's bored voice droned on.

Then, after a short time, the door slid open with a sharp sound that cut through the monotonous voice of the teacher.

"Well, look who's here. The new kids." The teacher said with an unmistakable sarcasm in her voice.

The girl with dark blue hair tied in a ponytail handed the teacher a note. The teacher's eyes darted back and forth as she skimmed the page. 

"Lets all welcome…Mariam, Dunga, Kane and Salima." The teacher said with obvious fakeness in her voice.

Kai smirked. _Well, what do you know: they're back._

---

Below Kai's classroom, Zeo, Hilary, Tyson, Kenny and Max's class was not doing much better. The teacher was more energetic than the class though. Her tone of voice changed noticeably during the last 15 minutes, when almost the whole class decided they needed a nap.

After wasting 5 minutes of school time to wake everyone up, the teacher cleared her throat.

"Well everybody, it seems like we have some new students today." Miss Kincaid's voice returned to its sweet self when she took notice that the whole class was paying attention again. "Make them feel welcome, here's Ozuma and Joseph. If any of you do any of the new kid jokes on these kids, I will make sure to send you to the principle's office." She glared at Tyson, who was grinning nervously.

Ozuma and Joseph walked in. A small smirk was planted on their faces. Almost immediately, Ozuma's glare fixed on Tyson.

"Hi old buddies! Good to see ya!" Max smiled warmly at the two. Ozuma nodded at him and Joseph gave a little salute.

"OZUMA!! Wow it's been so long! Nice to see you again! Hey, when are we going to have that bey-"?

"Tyson, sit down."

"Yes Miss Kincaid." Tyson said automatically.

"Now, Ozuma and Joseph, you can take your seat behind Tyson, where there are two free seats."

"Hai." They said in unison and sat down. Miss Kincaid smiled and flushed at the obedience.

"I haven't had that in a while…" She said as she turned. "Turn to page 369…"

After Miss Kincaid turned her back to the class, Tyson leaned back. "The beybattle, you promised when you left. Are we gonna have that soon?"

Ozuma smirked. "How could I turn down such an offer to kick your ass?"

---

"Hey, Salima, is it really you? Hi Kane!" Ray looked at the four. "You two," He looked at Mariam and Dunga, "where've you been?" He smiled.

"We've been…hanging around…" Mariam replied.

Dunga grunted. "Kai, when are we going to have our little 'friendly' match again? I've gotten better then last time." Dunga turned and smirked at Kai. Kai smirked back. His expression didn't change at all when Dunga bragged about his techniques.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, your not the only one who lived those days, I got better too. I'll beat you again if I have to prove how I am still better than you." He smirked more menacingly. Mariam looked at Kai, surprised.

"Who knew Kai had that kind of expression? Hey, I've always wanted to take on the mighty Kai, well, I challenge you to a practice match." Mariam winked her piercing green eyes and sat down in an empty spot beside the two-toned haired boy.

Kai closed his eyes and reopened them. His eyes bore a challenge. "You're on."

"We'll come too." Kane shrugged at Salima, who nodded.

"We also got better, and new blades too." Salima smiled as she flashed her Beyblade at them.

"I can't wait, it will be just like old times…" Ray's eyes shined chibi style as he sighed and turned to the teacher, who was tapping her foot impatiently at the group. Seeing that, Dunga, Salima and Kane, who were still standing, took a seat at the empty desks behind Ray.

---

"Hey Kai, aren't you going to eat?" Tyson asked him while stuffing his face with his own food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full Tyson..." Hilary frowned at her boyfriend. She gave him a poke in the arms, which is the reason he squirmed and laughed, spitting out food. The table looked at him, disgusted.

"Who died and made you boss?" Tyson shot back, everyone at the table sighed.

"Typical Tyson" Ray shrugged. Mariah nodded slowly, agreeing to the comment.

"Who's the new pink head?" Mariam asked to no one in particular. "She wasn't here when I was here before."

"Oh, that idiot…" Kai said, ignoring Mariah's struggle to punch him. "She's Mariah, Ray's girlfriend. They were since little kids…friends, I mean."

Ray and Mariah each avoided the comment, by either looking elsewhere or concentrating on their food. Kai looked at them dully and shook his head.

"Ah shit, I have to run. Something about a lunchtime arrangement…damn school…" Hilary jumped up. Mariah followed her.

"See ya girls…" Dizzi's voice rang out from her computer. Mariah gave Ray a peck and dashed off after Hilary.

---

After the boring day of school, Kai was sitting at his desk and logging onto his laptop.

"Welcome, Kai." The computer said in a programmed voice that played whenever Kai signed in onto his user account on XP. He browsed around and logged onto MSN.

_Dranzer has signed in. You have 4 messages in your inbox._

Kai searched through his many contact groups and found the 'Bladers'. He looked at the figures and Drigger was already on. His eyes darted nervously and he decided to appear offline. But Ray was too fast for him. He was, after all, cat like. Cats are fast, aren't they?

_Drigger: Don't ever think about appearing offline._

_Dranzer: Hey Ray._

_Drigger: Hi_

_Dranzer: sup?_

_Drigger: ha…like anything ever happens anymore…_

_Dranzer: Dunga wants a rematch with me…_

_Drigger: …him? He always wants to fight…_

_Dranzer: o.O...your point? _

_Drigger: -shrug-_

_Dranzer: --;_

_Drigger: welcome to the boring world of sunshine and daisies..._

_Dranzer: Yah, whatever…the world is becoming a worse place, so I guess I have to live with that._

_Drigger: Your way too weird…and I am WAY too bored…want to play a game?_

_Dranzer: naw, I've got better things to do…_

_Drigger: like…?_

Kai stared into space…thinking hard…his head gave no answers.

_Dranzer: Your right…I've got nothing beta to do…_

_Drigger: Don't worry so much my friend, well, g2g. Anyways… see ya tomorrow._

_Dranzer: Bye._

_Drigger has signed off._

Kai sighed with relief and but his status on busy. He checked his email, nothing but junk and forwards. He signed and started to play some games. But they soon became boring. Then, as if on cue, someone named _So what if I'm better than you? Live With It_. signed in.

---

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It_. _has signed in. You have 0 messages in your inbox._

Mariam sighed as she rubbed her eyes. Suddenly she realized a person named Dranzer was on. She smiled, knowing that was Kai. It was kind of obvious to every blader out there.

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It: Hey Kai._

_Dranzer: Hi Mariam._

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It: Away eh? Sure…_

_Dranzer: Its there to shoo away annoying people_

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It: Like me?_

_Dranzer: Like you._

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It: About the beybattle…you want to go now? I heard that the others are going right now. If we hurry, we can catch up with them._

_Dranzer: Sure…why not?_

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It: I can think of many reasons, but I'm not going to. Anyways…meet me in the park._

_Dranzer: There…are lots of parks here._

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It: The one close to the KFC and the stadium._

_Dranzer: Alright…_

_Dranzer has signed off._

_So what if I'm better than you? Live With It. Has signed off._

---

Ryuki: I no, I no, pathetic…Well, if you want me to give you advice, read on. The really good stuff comes in the later chapters; from…I think…4 or 5. If you want, skip. But I'm not really sure myself. Anyways…I hope you review. JA!


	2. Training Stadium to Unusual Bit Beasts

Special note to:

 Crystal-clear-tears: Thank u so much! My first review (and it was nice too) and it really made my day

---

Chapter II

Disclaimer: Well, just to say I don't own Beyblade or its characters, all I own is my made up shit load of fan fiction. Enjoy!

---

_Where is she?_ The blue haired boy wondered as he walked down the empty path through the park. Looking behind him impatiently, Kai wished that Mariam would come soon. It was not in his nature to wait for other people, and it would be strange if someone caught him walking in the park alone._ Hurry up Mariam! _He thought, walking back and forth.

"What do you know? I thought you wouldn't show..." Mariam smirked as she jogged up to him.

"…You're late." Kai muttered angrily.

"Sorry Kai, Joseph hid my Beyblade. That annoying brat…" Mariam looked around, feeling a bit awkward with all the silence. "Where's everyone?"

Kai sneered. "Its not my problem you decided to go for a walk here…its usually empty."

"Yeah…I suppose…where do you want to go?"

"Stadium, where else?" Kai said in a bored tone. "That was the plan, right?"

"Oh yeah…well, lets just cut through the forest."

"Hn…"

For what it seemed like a long time, the two walked in total silence. And nothing made a sound except their footsteps, their breathing and the blowing of the wind. The birds chirped cheerfully and the rustle of the leaves on the trees created a peaceful environment. Once in a while, one would sneak a peek at the other, then look away as the other person decides to too.

---

"Kai? Mariam? What are you two doing here?"

A voice sounded so weird after all the silence. Then it was recognized as they turn to see who said that.

"We could ask you the same thing." Kai growled as he blushed a light pink for being caught alone in a place with a girl.     

"Hi Ray, Mariah, Kane, Salima, Tyson and Hilary!" Mariam greeted them as she turn to give Kai a look and a jab in the arm with her elbow for being so mean to their friends. Kai just shrugged it off.

"Well, we are here because we are on a Beyblade date for training. You two wouldn't be doing that would you?" Salima raised an eyebrow.

Kane looked very confused. "I thought Kai hated everyone..." He said blankly, in a way that almost made Tyson seem normal.

"So did we, Kane…" Hilary nodded. "So did we…"

"As if we'd go on a…a Beyblade date...and no I don't hate everyone, just the ones that are annoying..." That was Kai's answer, as he started to turn away.

Everyone looked at Tyson. "WHAT?" Tyson said loudly and pouted.

"Ah, leave him alone...I decided to go for a battle and I invited Kai along. I've always wanted to see if I was good enough for the famous Kai." Mariam answered for him. She decided to save his sorry butt from these accusing friends of his. Besides, it was true.

"Right...yeah and Kai agreed…interesting…" Tyson chuckled.

"I sort of nagged him if you know what I mean." Mariam said, saving Kai again. "I don't think you would refuse a good fight. Besides, you know how convincing I am." Mariam smirked challengingly. Tyson shrugged.

"Well, since we are all here...well almost all here...we should go to pizza hut first. I'm starving." Ray suggested.

"IM NOT ALONE IN THIS WORLD!!!" Tyson said to the sky. Almost every one either fell or sweat dropped.

"Pizza sounds fine." Mariah shrugged. They all agreed.

---

Stuffed with pizza, some groaned and complained about their full stomach. Kai, seeing this chaos and relaxation, frowned. They were here to practice and battle. No one said anything about practices. Kai sighed and reached into his pocked. He pulled out a 20 and 10-dollar bill. He put it on the table along with the receipt. He stood up.

"Now, can we go for the Beyblade matches?" Kai said, annoyed. The bladers looked at each other and they laughed. Kai glared at them.

"You always spoils the fun with all your scheduled practices" Tyson complained.

"We could use some exercise to burn off these calories we just stuffed down our stomachs." Mariah smiled. Hilary nodded.

"Ok, we might as well as go too..." Kane and Salima agreed.

"Hey I don't want to be left out!" Tyson said and stuffed the last of his slice in his mouth.

"Why not go? Practice is good…" Ray said as he scratched the back of his head. 

"I though this moment would never come," Mariam smiled and too out her blade. The group started to walk towards the Stadium, which was next door.

---

At last, they arrived, to Kai's relief. Now, to his horror, both Zeo and Kenny were there already. He didn't mind them, but there WERE already 8 people, and now there are 10. That makes practice less efficient for each player. He shrugged it off.

"Hey Kenny, Zeo, what are you doing here?" Tyson called as he waved at them.

"Kenny was showing me what other bladers can do and what I am up against." Zeo replied. "If I want to get my bit beast, and be a good Beyblader, I need to know what I am up against."

"Chief always has the best ideas." Kane said and smiled.

"Since we are here, why don't we start off with…a battle to show Zeo what the top is like? Then, he could work his way up, knowing what he is against." Kenny suggested.

"Ok, we'll go first." Rei said as he nodded to Mariah, who nodded back.

"3-2-1...LET IT RIP!!!" The two blades got released into the rink. They spun and dove at each other, creating sparks when the collided.

"GO DRIGGER!!" yelled Ray as his Beyblade darted left and right. It picked up speed and started to glow brightly. The Beyblade headed towards Mariah's, which was spinning in one place. Drigger was released from his seal and he floated above the battle, waiting for Galux to do the same. She did.

"GALUX!! SCRATCH ATTACK!" Cried Mariah. Galux picked up speed as well, and the two Beyblades collided in the middle, creating a force that pushed both Beybladers back. The two cats slashed at each other, as if they were sworn enemies.

Then, the two were called back; the Beyblades flew into Ray and Mariah's hands.

"Ok, I'll go against Zeo." Tyson said as he slapped his Beyblade onto its launcher. "3-2-1...LET IT RIP!!!"

Both Beyblades became a blur as they flew into the ring. "GO DRAGOON! VICTORY TORNADO!!" Tyson yelled, trying to perfect his final attack further.

"Tyson, use your final attacks when it is time. Remember what happened last time when you tried using your last attack first?" Kai lectured.

Tyson gritted his teeth, he hated being told what to do. But Kai was right, unfortunately.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it…" Tyson turned to Dragoon. "DRAGOON! USE PHANTOM STORM INSTEAD!" Tyson yelled.

"Alright, its time to prove yourself!" Kenny said to Zeo, who nodded. He turned towards the battle again.

"GO! CERBERUS!!!" Zeo yelled as his Beyblade started to pick up speed. The two Beyblades collided and they each tried to push the other out of the stadium. The wresting continued for a while, then, the two bladers called them back. The Beyblades flew to the bladers' hands.

"Alright, Kai, its your turn." Salima said to him, who nodded.

"I know…" Kai said darkly.

_I want to go next, but which blade will I use?_ Kai wondered to himself. He could use Black Dranzer or Dranzer, but they will cause too much damage because they're too powerful for this little stadium. Then again he can use his new blade and bit beast called Surai, but he ever use it yet, and he was afraid that he couldn't control the power within the blade. Voltaire told him that Surai was extremely hard to control. But then again, he was Kai. Kai smirked, clutching his new blade in his palm, and put it on his launcher.

_Ok, I think Kai has made his choice...but he had the Dranzers for a long time. I just got my Myukis and I don't really know what to do yet. I still am confused about how Sharkrash can evolve into Twilight, a human like bit-beast. The Ryuseis are gifts from our masters…these two are just twins born from the stars…_ Mariam thought.

"Hurry up…" Tyson yelled impatiently, until Mariam and Kai both gave him a death glare. He whimpered.

_I guess I could use Twilight..._ Mariam thought as she took out her blade.

"3-2-1...LET IT RIP!!!!!" The two talented bladers launched their blades, the two spinning weapons blurred into the stadium, causing chips of the plastic to fall off.

"Surai!" Kai immediately called his bit beast out. What seemed like a boy with slightly pointy ears and horns of a dragon emerged. His dark, nearly black eyes contained a mystery and a challenging look. His wings, red and looked as if it was on fire, stretched and everyone in the stadium could feel the heat rising. People turned to see what was happening.

"Twilight!!!" Mariam also called her bit beast out. If Kai were a stranger, she would have waited to see his moves. But this was a practice, so nothing would hurt. Mariam's bit beast, Twilight, came out and immediately, the temperature settled back to what it was before. Twilight looked fairy like and had long black hair. The bit beast's smirk and her icy violet eyes declared her the star, in her opinion, that is. Her ears were also slightly pointy and her wings were snow white. Around her, a handful of chilly breezes played with her hair.

"Wow, they've got new blades!!! Look, they are both so human like…" Dizzi said in amazement.

"That is amazing, look at their powers! It's climbing off the charts." Kenny said as his eyes widened. "So Mariam, moved on from your Sharkrash?"

"Yup," she replied. "It evolved somehow, can you try to figure out how?"

Kenny nodded.

Twilight nodded at Surai, and surprising enough, he smiled slightly back. "Well...long time no see my friend..." she said. Since most bit beasts can't talk without any humans trying hard to understand them, many were surprised to hear a bit beast talk.

"So, ready for a little battle?" He asked.

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm going to win, like I always do." She smirked.

"Alright, we'll just have to see." He smirked back. Everyone turns dot eyed and stare at chief for answers.

"Okay…it seems like those two are friends..." Kenny said, after a long period of silence as the two bit beasts fought.

"That's all you can come up with?" Hilary said as she made a motion to strangle the Chief. The others were too shocked to say anything.

"Dizzy, can bit beasts make friends?" Chief asked in shock.

"I suppose that's an yes, look at them, that's a living example." Dizzi said in her usual matter-of-fact voice.

"Dizzy, I want you to do an analyze them and make me a chart. This is amazing!!! I never knew bit beasts could talk without the human even trying to understand!!!" Chief said. Dizzi cleared her throat.

"That was the lamest excuse ever chief…it seems like those two are friends? That's a statement, not a solution." Salima laughed.

"Wow!!! Look at those bit beasts go!!!" Zeo yelled excitedly. For everyone turned to see Kenny, they didn't even realize that the two blades were still spinning. Kai and Mariam tried to get them to listen, but obviously, they don't like to be bossed around. The two blades circled each other and they collided once in a while. Surai and Twilight took out their daggers and tried to slash each other. Despite that, the two Beyblades were still spinning.

The bit beasts fought until they got bored.

"Yo, Kai..." Surai said, yawning. "Can I go back now? I'm bored..."

"Speak for yourself, I am bored out of my wits…" Twilight rolled her eyes, which got Surai angry.

"You bored? I'm more bored," Surai sneered.

"No, I am." Twilight frowned.

"I am...!"

"I am...!"

"No, I am...!"

"I think I'm going to go..." Kai frowned as he ordered Surai to go back to his blade. "I'll see you all tomorrow...don't be late for practice…" he walked off. His frown remained on his face as he thought about his Beyblade fooling around during a battle. It was unusual for any of Kai's Beyblades to be fooling around, or not taking things seriously.

"Yeah, I'm going to go too..." Ray said. "Coming Mariah? I'll walk you home."

"Ks. Bye guys!" she followed him.

"I am gonna go home too…bye you people…" Mariam left.

"Well, I don't see the point of staying..." Kane and Salima left also, waving at the remaining bladers.

"Kane is right, lets go now..." Kenny said as he, Hilary, Zeo and Tyson raced out.

---

Ryuki: Sorry for all that torture, but the next chapter is the beginning of the good stuff. Oh yah, and if you have an msn or hotmail account, join my group at the groups page. Just type in RYUKI in the groups search and go in the mad house. Or just email me at sakurastar2hotmail.com, and make sure you put the subject as JOINING GROUP or some thing like that... thanks. And don't forget to review!


	3. Unusual Training Scheduel

Chapter III 

Ryuki: SPECIAL thanks to Shadowfrostpanther for some of the ideas. And Shadowfrostpanther helped A LOT…thanks =D also thanks to all who reviewed and thanks Zero84 for adding me to your fav. List…

---

      It wasn't every morning the blade breakers relaxed and talked instead of doing training first thing in the morning. Perhaps it is because of the horrible head wave, or because there is no wind, or the fact that the air is so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. The blade breakers were, much to Kai's annoyance, discussing about yesterday's battle of Kai and Mariam.

"So about that yesterday, we witnessed real talking bit beasts!!" Kenny said to the rest of the blade breakers with great amazement. Dizzi cleared her throat loudly and it was obvious that she wanted to get attention.  

"And I mean it…talking…they were TALKING!!! In a way that us humans could understand." Kenny continued, ignoring Dizzi.

"AHEM, -Kenny-, what am I? A talking_ **duck** _that got trapped inside a computer?" Dizzi started hotly, but Kenny ignored her once again and continued.

"Since that was not a sight we see everyday, talking bit beasts I mean, I've decided to do a thorough research on it and-"

"CHIEF!!!!!" Dizzi yelled. "IM A TALKING BIT BEAST YOU KNOW? I'VE BEEN HERE FOR ALONG TIME AND YOU NEVER PAID ANY ATTENTION TO ME!"

"Oh, Dizzi, terribly sorry, can u repeat that?" Kenny asked politely.

"CHIEF!!!!!!"

"Ah yes, you can talk too…but maybe it is because of this laptop and the fact that my hard drive and mother disk translated your bit beast gibberish into understandable language." Kenny said brightly. Dizzi scowled.

As the saga of argument continued, the blade breakers watched, amused. It was not every day that Kenny and Dizzi disagreed that much. They were practically roaring and hollering at each other, despite the fact that they are about a meter away from each other.

"You would have never expected – those two out of all of us – to start fighting like mad…" Max commented to the team as he raised an eyebrow at the two arguing people/beasts. The scene looked almost comical, as long as the arguing was toned down a bit.

"That's right, and maybe we'll forget about training and go to a fancy restaurant!!!" Tyson said excitedly as he started to drool, thinking about all the food from a buffet. His mind drifted. Before it could go far, Kai interrupted.

"Keep dreaming Tyson, some day it will come true…not as long as I'm here however." Kai growled. Tyson groaned and crossed his arms in anger.

"You had to ruin everything," he grumbled as Kai smirked.

"That's my job."

"So…what are we going to do? I mean, once those two starts, there is no stopping them…" Ray sighed. "They could ramble on for hours about the control process and the different functions of Kenny's laptop without any food or water. Not to mention the fact that if we disturbed them, I don't think we will be living for very long."

Kai stood up slowly and sighed, almost sadly.  "Alright, everyone, today's training is-"

"Yes?" Tyson asked hopefully with the puppy dog eyes planted on his face.

"Still on. Tyson, if you interrupt me one more time, you will get extra laps. As I was saying before I was rudely _interrupted_," Kai gave Tyson a cold glare. "Today's training will be mainly of our blade controlling skills, unless someone decides to interrupt me like Tyson so I can give them actual laps around the lake, drink lemonade and watch them sweat and suffer from today's weather."

Tyson gulped and took a little step back. Sweat poured down his face as if he had no control of his body fluids.

"What about those two?" Max jabbed a finger behind him, pointing at Dizzi and Chief, who were now discussing the translation programs that Kenny installed on his laptop years ago.

"Leave them. When they ACTUALLY stop fighting, we will be finished. Plus, they will probably know where to find us…lets just hope they aren't as clueless as some people I know." Kai said to no one in particular, but everyone, except Tyson, knew whom it was for.

"Ok, right, so where ARE we going exactly?" Ray asked.

"Street, alley, places where illegal bladers will be." Kai replied.

"That sounds grea – WAIT a sec, we, us, me, our team…is going to search for illegal bladers?" Tyson echoed blankly.

"Yes, you know, those people are the best to train against. They have the blade, the power, but no style, and no hope to win against us. So we don't have to worry about a thing…and maybe we'll even bump into some friends…"

"Which one of our friends blade and train against illegal bladers?"

Kai shrugged, and smirked knowingly. The team looked at him and immediately got worried. Because whenever Kai had that look, there's ought to be something dangerous.

---

It's been nearly half an hour since the team met their last opponent, who lasted for no longer than 2 minutes in battle. It was pathetic, weak and almost funny. Walking, surprisingly, seemed worse compared to battling against whatever dangerous stuff there is out there.

"Come on, can we get some rest now?" Tyson grumbled loudly. "Seriously Kai, I don't know who is more tough, you or maybe even your grandpa-"

A great bang was heard with a satisfying ping to the sound.

Tyson gasped and his control of his body fluids seemed to malfunction again: Kai had punched the nearby fence and left a dent, a deep dent.

"Do not speak of that man, I am nothing like him." Kai hissed darkly and one could swear that there was a glint of red in his eyes, along with a spark of fang in his mouth. He hung his head and made sure there was a safe distance between him and the rest of the team.

"You know, Kai despises his grandpa…" Ray whispered to Tyson after he made sure Kai was a safe distance away. Tyson looked at Rei stupidly. Ray sighed and decided explained briefly. "Voltaire is the one who made Kai like that…"

"Like what?" Tyson blinked and cocked his head dumbly.

"Cold!! Goodness, you were the one who was complaining about how 'tough' Kai was, well, there you go!" Ray growled.

"Oh…" A light bulb seemed to have 'dinged' in Tyson's head.

"Tyson, how much more stupid can you get?" Max shook his head.

"Guys, we've got company, and a couple of them…" Kai called from about 20 meters ahead.

"Huh? What? Another group?" Tyson groaned loudly, but was stopped when Max bonked his head.

Ray, however, smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"Shut Up Tyson…" Kai said loudly and stopped to wait for the rest of the team, who caught up easily.

"LET IT RIP!!!" a decent group of voices called from the shadows.

"LET IT RIP!!! DRANZER!!!" Kai launched and crashed 2 blades into dust. "LET IT RIP!!!" Rei, Max and Tyson yelled and their blades knocked the other 5 blades into little tiny pieces. The 4 blades returned into their owner's hands. Kai stepped forwards and looked around, their opponents had run away.

"Seven is supposed to be a lucky number, isn't it?" Max said as he looked at the Beyblades that were 'dustified'. "Not quite for them, I guess…"

"Kai, you say this is the perfect place to train with the perfect blades, but I still think that the matches are WAY to easily won." Tyson but his hands behind his head and yawned. "I mean, one launch, no bit beasts, that's too simple."

"You're right Tyson…" Kai said, slowly, as if he just realized it.

"Huh? Did you just say I was right?" Tyson blinked in surprise. His voice rose as his confusion increased…Kai had just agreed with Tyson.

"Yes, you are right. This is way too easy…in fact, I think we should look for their head bladers." Kai smirked.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!" the once relaxed blader groaned. 

Max laughed. "I should have known…"

"Yes, you should have." Tyson sighed.

"I wouldn't be talking, Tyson." Max reminded.

"We don't need to." Ray said out of nowhere.

"Don't need to do what?" Tyson was confused once again. That seems to happen a lot.

"Look for them, of course." Ray replied.

"Huh? Why not? Didn't Kai say we should?" Max blinked, for he is now as confused as Tyson.

"Dear Maxie…because they are already here for us…" Kai said and pointed at two shadows approaching.

"So…the famous **blade breakers**…we meet AGAIN…"  

---

Ryuki: hmm…that was pretty short…I just wanted to finish this before dinner and post it up…lolz. Anyways, just so you all know, I hate the name Maxie. But since Kai was sort of making fun of Max and pointing out the 'obvious', I made him use that. Well, dun forget to keep those suggestions coming.


	4. A Battle Againced the Theif Heads

Chapter IV 

Ryuki: Ahem…now, for ALL the flamers that have absolutely NO story and they flame you for no reason, I think all the writers feel the same way, U CANNOT, U DO NOT AND YOU MAY NOT FLAME OTHERS IF U DO NOT HAVE A STORY OF SOME SORT DOWN YOURSELF!!!!!! Cuz u flaming others is jus wrong, considering that u can't write shit even if Ur life depended on it. So…yeah…

---

"So…the famous **blade breakers**…we meet AGAIN…"

"King…" Kai growled and his eyebrow twitched.

"And Queen…" Ray finished.

"W-What are you people doing h-here?" Tyson stammered.

"Shut your big fat mouth Tyson…" King growled as his companion, Queen, smirked.

"Oh yeah? LET IT RIP!!!!!" Tyson launched his blade. Before Kai could do anything, a green blade came and knocked it back to it's owner.

"Tyson you IDIOT!"  A voice called out from the shadows, where the green blade flew. The hand belonged to an old friend.

Joseph.

Tyson gasped.

"Ozuma? Is that you? What are you doing here? Kai made us come here!" Tyson laughed. "Did he make you come here as well?"

"There's no time to LAUGH Tyson," Ozuma said coolly.

"Huh?"

"You've got King and Queen right here, aren't you going to do something besides _laugh_ and say hello?" Joseph smirked.

"Besides…how can Kai boss us around? Tyson, you are so daft." Mariam shook her head.

"What does daft mean?" Tyson asked blankly.

"Stupid, idiotic, amateurish, no brains, hollow, empty, shallow…" Mariam counted her fingers.

"Are you _wee amateurs_ done talking yet? Well, I'm ready to take your parts any second now…" Queen smiled innocently, and then gave an evil laugh.

"I'll fight you!" Max piped up, but was pushed down by his teammates.

"No, not now, you know how unfair King and Queen is, they probably have a whole group of illegal bladers ready at their call to assist them. No, Max, not alone." Ray said firmly, Max nodded, disappointed.

King laughed. "Your friend there is pretty smart, remember to be afraid of me…great teaching Rei…" Rei growled and his eyes turned into slits for a brief 2 seconds.

"Well, which one of you is going first?"

"Me…" Kai spoke up, and got into position. Tyson frowned.

"Kai? You know it is-"

"Shut up Tyson, I'm going first. Now, all of you stay back, and don't get yourselves hurt."

"Not alone, you wont, King and Queen, me and Kai challenge you to a double match." Ray glared at Kai, making sure he agreed. Kai shrugged.

"Makes no difference…" He muttered and got into position once again.

"No problem, seems _fair _enough," King laughed evilly. "Not that it matters…we'll beat you ANYWAYS!!!"

"Shut up and blade. 3-2-1…LET IT RIP!!!!!"

Kai, Rei, King and Queen launched their blades. The 4 blades circled around. The rest of the bladers watched silently, waiting for the first move. Kai frowned; both him and Rei griped their launchers tightly, sensing an unclean battle coming up.

(A/N: I am so sorry, but I couldn't find ANY info on king and queen's attacks and stuff, I barely knew what the blade's name was…lol…I found this Portuguese site that had the names, but I cant read Portuguese…-sigh-if u no anything, tell me an I'll fix this)

"Well, since no one is going to do anything…I hope you don't mind, Queen, that I attack first…ARIEL!! SKY FIRE ATTACK!!!"

The blade shot towards Dranzer, who easily dodged it, but then Gabriel came up and pushed Dranzer forwards. Kai took a small step back because of the force of the attack, but smirked. "Is that all you've got?" He challenged.

Dranzer picked up speed and raced towards Ariel, crashing into it and sending it back a bit. But Ariel recovered and circled the stadium. Ray, sensing that it was time for Drigger to move in, called silently for the blade to start on offence. King and Queen, seeing both blades are on Offence, decided to do something about that, before the 2 sacred bit-beasts knock out their blades.

"Gabriel!!!"

"Ariel!!!"

"DOUBLE ATTACK!!!!!"

The 2 blades of King and Queen circled as both of them headed to attack. Bright light glowed and 2 bit-beasts came out.

"Dranzer!!"

"Drigger!!"

Kai and Ray both called out their bit-beasts as well. The Tiger and Phoenix appeared, looking as powerful as ever.

"Lets match the power of OUR sacred bit-beasts to yours." King roared.

Tyson blinked. "Your bit beasts are sacred as well?"

King, Kai, Ray and Queen all glared coldly at Tyson, who sweat-drops, gives a small whimpers and slowly backs away. Max gave Tyson a little pat after.

Dranzer spread its wings, and then charged towards Ariel. The firebird shrieked with power and pride as it dove in. Gabriel tried to come in, but then was pushed back by Drigger. Drigger growled as he waved his paw warningly.

"Not this time Queen…This time, the battle is going to be fair." Ray smirked and gave a thumb up to Kai, who nodded.

"DRANZER!! GO!! VOLCANIC ERRUPTION!!!" Kai roared and the blue blade looked as if it was on fire. Dranzer charged towards Ariel and the 2 blades made contact. Sparks flew and Kai was gaining the upper hand. King yelled and Ariel started to gain speed. It started to push back. Kai silently ordered Dranzer to give in more, if there was anymore to give. Obviously, there was, for King, who was nearly defeated without the help of Queen, cried in pain. Kai smirked and gave his phoenix one last command before it knocked the other blade out of the stadium, shattering it into half, just like how he and Queen shattered Kai's blade in half. King fell on his knees.

"I…I…I…l…lo…lost!" He murmured, a blank look in his eyes. Then he turned to Kai, fury in his eyes now. "You are no different from me…you claim that I am unfair and I am a monster? Well, take a look at yourself. Remember that…you are also a cold hearted beast!" Kai looked away. Seeing King like this, Queen's eyes widened in surprise and fear.

"Now it's your turn to feel how the other bladers felt when they lost!" Ray yelled and turned to Drigger. "TIGER CLAW ATTACK!!!" Drigger followed the command and picked up speed. It rammed into Gabriel and sparks flew out. Queen gritted her teeth, fighting the great tiger.

"GABRIEL!!! GIVE ME YOUR FULL POWER!!!" she ordered as the bit beast started to glow brighter, obviously fighting to obey the command. Ray looked at her with great disapproval.

"A bit beast is your friend, give it respect. No? Fine, then, I'll just have to teach it to you the hard way." He smirked. "DRIGGER! NOW!" the white blade jumped and hit Gabriel from the top, with a force so great that the blade toppled and stopped spinning. The blade's center cracked, but the bit-beast piece remained unharmed. Queen stared at her blade in horror. Ray looked down, and called his blade back to him. Kai did the same; Dranzer flew towards his open hand.

"We…lost…that's impossible!" Queen breathed. Kai looked down upon them, "this is what you deserve, and this is what you've got. I have no sympathy for you." He said harshly. Ray smiled and walked towards his cheering teammates. Kai remained in his position, looking at the picture of his bit-beast on his blade. He clutched the blade tightly, and the edges cut into his skin. He took one final glance at his happy teammates, and walked silently away…

Ryuki: so how was that? It took me a while to write it, so sorry. And dun ask me where Kai is going, coz I dun even know, to tell u the truth…

Kai: -Glare at Ryuki-

Ryuki: What?

Kai: -Continue to glare-

Ryuki: -annoyed- WHAT?

Kai: -Still glaring-

Ryuki: -roll eyes- don't worry, I won't make anything that horrible happen to you.

Kai: -Glare-

Ryuki: whatever…hey it's the first time u showed up at my comments…hi!

Kai: -Glaring still-

Ryuki: right…so…umm…yeah…-whimper- RR!!!


	5. Kai's Thoughts and Mariam's Lesson

Chapter V 

Disclaimer: If I did own Beyblade, then Kai would be the star, and he would be with the demolition boys, and they would win every battle, and Kai would be with Mariam, not Max with Mariam, and Rei would be with Mariah a lot, and the list goes on.

---

Kai slowly walked down the shadowy, deserted streets. He knew this place was unusual to come to, that's why he came here, because he needed to think. _Are King and Queen really right? Am I just like them? Am I a coldhearted beast trying to hide? _Kai closed his eyes and hung his head as he sat down on a big rock. He thought of what King said…

_Then he turned to Kai, fury in his eyes now. "You are no different from me…you claim that I am unfair and I am a monster? Well, take a look at yourself. Remember that…you are also a cold hearted beast!"_

_I was like them…at the tournament; I took everyone's bit beasts with Black Dranzer…_Kai took out his precious black blade and looked at it. It was beautiful, yet it is filthy with darkness. It had no right to live at all, yet it is more powerful then the rest. It had a cold, black heart and a burning desire to kill. _Is that how I am?_ Kai thought, gripping the black blade in his hands. Then he took out Dranzer with his other hand. Dranzer, on the other hand, was powerful, yet pure. He didn't want to rip others limp by limp apart, unlike his twin brother. Dranzer was good, and he was loyal, even though he didn't express himself much.

At last, he took out Surai. Confusion fell over Kai. Why did he have Surai? It was a mysterious gift, he didn't know who gave it to him, and it only says 'be careful with this' on the card. From what Kai saw of Surai, he was a harmless little boy with a heck of an attitude. How could he get out of hand?

Kai ran his hands through his blue hair and leaned back. _I cannot go back to them, they probably also think I am a killer beast with no heart. They despise me, me and what I've done to them. Even if they don't, what if I become like Black Dranzer? The Dranzers are like the 2 little voices in my head: One good, and one bad; one evil, and one pure._ Kai closed his eyes and pushed those thoughts away. He tried to blend in with the shadows. He sat silently and waited for a sign of which he can follow. There was only silence, forming a wall between him and the rest of the world…until…

…

Tap…tap…tap…

The small tapping of someone's shoes broke into the world that Kai was in.

They were footsteps. The person had no intention of hiding whatsoever. Kai slowly opened his eyes, and crouched lower so they couldn't see him.

"This is really pathetic, Kai…" the voice rang out, loud and clear, bouncing against the walls. The sound cut through the silence. It was Mariam. "Kai, I always thought you were more of a man than this, I mean, hiding in the shadows aren't going to solve your problem. And what did we do to you? You won! Why are you hiding in the first place? Kai!"

Kai senses tingled as he heard the very distant footsteps approaching. As silent as a cat, and as fast as a cheetah, he hid. But obviously, Mariam happened to have really good eyes, and spotted the movement.

"Kai, stop hiding!" She demanded and put a hand on his shoulders to stop him. He flinched, backing way from the hand off and gave her a cold glare.

"Don't come near me…" He whispered in a deadly tone of voice, taking a step back. Mariam blinked, surprised.

"Why are you being so weird?" She asked slowly, a frown sat on her brows.

"I am not being weird, I'm being what I am…didn't you hear them? I am just like King and Queen…I am heartless…I am deadly, and I am dangerous! Just stay away from me!" He said with great pain in his eyes, which disappeared. He looked away, not wanting anyone to feel sorry for him.

"You are not! Why are you believing in what King and Queen says?"

"Because…it is true…I AM a beast…"

"Ho-?"

"STOP TRYING TO ARGUE! You weren't here last year; you didn't see me with Black Dranzer! I took everyone's bit beasts and I was the enemy…I was evil!" Kai interrupted, and then looked down to his feet, kicking a nearby fence hard. His voice darkened and so did the shadows on his face. Kai leaned against the fence he just kicked. "Ask anyone, they'll tell it to you in detail…especially the white tigers…and if you don't believe them, ask my grandfather, ask the demolition boys…ask anyone…"

"Kai, I know you did, but that was last year…it was different, you were different…" Mariam tried to talk some peace into him.

"How would you know? You never saw the real me…" Kai answered bitterly.

"I don't need to…we all like you for who you are, not who you WERE," Mariam comforted. "Come on, the rest are worried."

"Ha…worried…about me? I defeated King and Queen with Ray and that's all they care about. Maybe after 2 seconds they'll forget who I am…" Kai laughed painfully and started to walk away. But Mariam came up to him and stopped him. Her fist unraveled and she gave him a slap, hard. Kai frowned, his hand reached up to feel the stinging red patch where the girl slapped him with most of her power.

"You're not going anywhere mister. Isn't it enough that you have friends that worry about you? What else do you want that you don't already have? Huh? Or are you just too ashamed because you THINK you hurt them? Wait, no they aren't good enough for you…is that it?" she yelled at him, keeping her piercing green glaze on him.

Kai was speechless. He touched the bit-chip of his Dranzer, hoping to get some answers. Dranzer said nothing; neither did Black Dranzer. Mariam's eyes softened. "I hope you have enough senses to go back to your team mates…" she said softly and walked away.

Kai made a fist with his hands and punched a nearby, abandoned car. He skinned his knuckles. Pain, it was his escape from reality.

_Fool, Mariam was right…you are a fool Kai…_Kai said to himself. The stinging of both his hands and his face woke him up and opened his eyes. He smirked. Then slowly made his way to the direction Mariam went.

_You know what Mariam? I am satisfied with the idiots I call…friends…_

Ryuki: Ok, that was totally pointless, but hey, its something, isn't it? I WAS going to make it more serious, but then again, am I ever really that serious? Nervous laugh well, when I AM serious, I get freakily serious and mean so…nod anyhow, even though this chappie had absolute no meaning, it doesn't mean u cant give a review…


	6. Goodbye Friends, Hello Virtual World

Chapter VI 

Disclaimer: If I owned Beyblade, I'd have enough money to order Rumiko Takahashi to kill Kikyo painfully and slowly. I'd also have enough money to kill my enemies and buy life size plushy of Kai and Sesshoumaru…XD

---

After the battle was over, Kane, Salima, Kenny and Hilary caught up with the training and partying team. They were filled in on the information. When they were congratulating Ray and Kai, they found he was not there.

"Tyson, where is Kai?" Kenny asked as he looked around for their team captain.

"Yeah, I was wondering that too…" Ray frowned, letting go of Mariah's hand, which he was holding. Ozuma's eyes widened.

"Mariam, she is gone as well!!" Joseph said for Ozuma. The green haired boy looked around and called for his sister.

"Two people missing? What do we do?" Max panicked.

Kane looked at him. "Its ok, Max, we'll find them, don't worry."

"Hmm…lets have a search party!" Hilary piped up energetically. Tyson nodded furiously and happily at the thought of a party of any kind.

There were a few minutes when the team decided what to do.

"We'll go searching together. If Kai and Mariam got lost, there will be no doubt that all of us will too. So come on everyone!" Salima smiled and gave everyone thumbs up.

"YEAH!"

---

Kai looked around, panting slightly from the run he just had. He looked ahead; Mariam was about 20 meters away. "Hey Mariam! Wait up!"

Mariam turned around, spotting Kai. She grinned. "So, you FINALLY decided, your not as much of an idiot as I thought then." Kai caught up easily, then looked around again, and frowned.

"Where is everyone? This is where we left them, isn't it?" Kai said slowly. He looked around and found a wrapper of a Popsicle opened by what seemed like a ripper of a Beyblade. "Isn't this what Tyson do? Open stuff with his ripper?" He held up the rapper.

"Yeah…oh no! What if they went looking for us?" Mariam perked up.

"No, they probably just went for pizza or something…" Kai said quietly.

"Kai Hiwatari, you are being obnoxious again. Remember, our teammates will never abandon us like that!"

"Maybe not yours, but mine."

"Kai, don't make me slap you again."

"Alright, alright…" Kai sighed, even though he didn't quite mind the pain as much as Mariam would like. "Lets go, I know this place well, and I think I know a way they might have went…"

---

"Come on you guys, hurry up!" Max nearly jumped up and down with impatience.

"Easy for you to say, Max, you are high on sugar every second of your life…" Dunga panted slightly.

"Guys, be careful, there is a few hard rocks up here that is quite dangerous…try to jump over it…ok?" Hilary called from ahead. Mariah groaned.

"How can there be so many rocks in an ALLEY? I mean, seriously…its an alley!" She muttered, crossing her arm.

"Mariah, you know she is just trying to warn you, better safe then sorry, right?" Ray said as he poked Mariah jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah, your safety lessons are really getting on my nerves Ray…"

"Sorry, but I have to get it drilled in your head." He replied, grinning, and jumped over a few rocks.

"Right…" Mariah grunted as she walked over several rocks. Not paying attention to where she is going, she stepped in between 2 big boulders and her foot sunk, causing her to fall. Her foot fell in between and it twisted.

"OUCH!!!"

---

"What do we do now?"

"Look, what else?"

"But we've looked EVERYWHERE!"

Kai glared at Mariam. "This is your idea, not mine. I'd never look for them if it weren't for you, nagging. I would have left them to die and hopefully they will not find a way out. Anyways, if you want to give up, go ahead…"

"Alright…goodness…I seriously like you better silent." Mariam grumbled.

"Good, then you shut up too, so it won't trigger a reaction of smart comments." Kai smirked. Mariam stuck her tongue out childishly.

---

"So…Kenny…Chief…where are we now? We have 1 person with a hurt ankle and two people that are thirsty. Not to mention how hungry I personally am…" Tyson said impatiently.

"We are…at an abandoned alley…" Kenny suggested hopefully.

"Oh no! Don't tell me we are lost!" Max whined, worried.

"If only Kai was here, he knows the alley like the back of his hands…" Chief mumbled. 7 angry glares shot at him.

"Huh? Guys, look up there! What is that?" Hilary cried. Everyone looked. It was a door like entrance; it looks like it leaded to a forest of some sort. It was pretty new, with 'hidden powers' carved on one of the polls.

(A/N: Think card captors and the entrance of the temple thing…bah, forget it…)

"Hidden powers, eh?" Mariah winced, her ankle sending pain up her leg. "Sounds good enough to me." Ray frowned.

"Mariah, you shouldn't come, your leg, it might get worse…" Ray said softly to her, trying to make it sound serious, and not include any pity in his voice. Mariah's eyes shot towards him.

"I am fine…I TOLD you…"

"No you are not…I'll stay here with you…"

"It's ok, we'll just check that's all." Salima told her in an assuring tone of voice.

"It doesn't hurt to go in…I suppose…" Kenny sighed and stepped in. His eyes widened in surprise as he waved his arm madly.

"CHIEF!!!" Tyson ran to his friend, the rest followed, except Rei and Mariah, making sure that Kenny was ok.

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!" Kenny moaned as the team reached him. "You weren't supposed to come in here!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because, Tyson, we are standing above a door-like passage! And if there is too much weight, then we f-"

Kenny didn't get to finish. The passage opened under them and they fell into the darkness of the endless pit. Seeing this, Ray raced towards his friends, but was stopped by the big gap of blackness between him and the other side. Mariah, who was wincing because of her leg, also tried to make her way to where Ray was.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The scream got fainter and fainter, until it, along with Rei and Mariah's friends, was swallowed by the darkness…

---

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kai perked up suddenly. He turned to where he heard the voice coming from.

"Do you hear that?" Mariam asked suspiciously, Kai nodded. "Who could it be…oh no…you don't think…"

"It is coming from over there, come on, it sounds like Kenny, or Salima."

The 2 teens sped towards their left, where they heard the voice coming from. They looked around as they ran as fast as their feet would carry them. After a while, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"JOSEPH! MARIAH! RAY! TYSON! OZUMA! HILARY! CHIEF! ANYONE?" Mariam yelled. No reply. "GUYS? COME ON, WHERE ARE YOU! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" There was still no reply. Kai put a hand on her shoulders.

"Its ok, we'll find them, don't worry…" Kai tried to sound calm and comforting.

"I'd worry about yourself if I were you…"

A voice rang out from behind them. Kai immediately turned around and raised his arms in defense, one of his reflexes. It was a group of men. They were big and tough looking, but Kai wasn't scared, and apparently, neither was Mariam, that or she was doing a very good job hiding it.

"What do you want?" Kai said coldly.

"We, mister Kai Hiwatari, are following instructions. So make it easier for all of us, and follow without any complaints."

"Mister Kai?" Mariam frowned and turned towards Kai. "You KNOW these people?"

"No, what makes you say that?"

"Well they DO call you MISTER Kai…"

Kai frowned deeply and looked at the men. "I do not know you, you must have the wrong people."

The head of the men just sighed. "I knew this would happen…Voltaire said it would…he was right…" Kai's eyes widened in shock the moment he heard the name 'Voltaire'.

"Did you just say…V…Volt…Voltaire?"

"Well, you DO remember AFTER all, Mister Kai Hiwatari…" The Second man smirked a true evil smirk as he took off his dark sunglasses. "Call me Durian…"

"Durian?" Mariam sneered. "What a crazy name…"

Durian only glared and handed Kai a small bundle. "It will come to be useful, Mister Kai, for what happens next, will be terribly painful. No, not only painful PHYSICALLY, but painful MENTALLY as you will watch-"

"DURIAN! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" the head roared, and then cleared his throat hastily. "You will find out what happens next, young Kai."

Kai frowned, sensing he wasn't going to like the surprise one little bit…

---

"TYSON? HILARY? CHIEF? OZUMA? JOSEPH? DUNGA? MAX? ANYONE?" Ray yelled from the edge of the endless pit where his friends fell. "Come on guys? Are you there?"

"Ray, its no use…" Mariah said painfully as she finally made her way to where Ray now was. "They are gone…I suppose, all of them…"

Ray put his arm around the pink-haired girl to give comfort and kissed her forehead. Then suddenly, foot steps approached, and they heard a familiar voice…2 familiar voices…Mariah and Ray turned around, their eyes widened in surprise.

"We heard the scream and got here as fast as we could, away from…some obstacles…" Kai muttered and grumbled; it was barely audible.

"Ray? Mariah? Where'd the rest of them go? Are you guy ok?" Mariam demanded.

"Nice to see you guys too…" Mariah smiled weakly, tears running freely down her face. "They…the rest of them…they're gone…I hope they all went to heaven…"

"This is a joke, right? Ha, ha, funny…now seriously, where'd they go?" Mariam waited for the answer, knowing that it was not a joke, and looked down at the darkness where her friends supposedly fell.

"Its not a joke…" Kai muttered, and ran his hands through his 2-toned hair. He groaned in frustration, and paced around. Mariam just stared numbly at the blackness of the pit, as if something would burst out of it. Ray still had his arm around Mariah, whispering comforting words, more to fool himself than Mariah. Kai suddenly looked up from his pacing.

"Mariam, remember what Durian said? Suffering not only physically but also mentally? How he gave the bundle to me? Well, I think we are suffering mentally right now…" He paused, "and I think the physical stuff is about to come."

That didn't comfort them one bit, but it did answer a few things.

Ray and Mariah looked at Kai, puzzled by this whole Durian thing.

"On our way here, we met a group of guys. They seemed to know Kai from somewhere, but I don't think Kai remembers them. Anyways, they mentioned about us suffering, and watching something, but he never finished." Mariam paused, waiting for the gears in the 2's heads turn faster to catch up with what she is saying. "Alright? Also he gave Kai a package, saying it will be useful."

"I think we should open it now…" Kai said firmly. Rei and Mariah nodded. Mariam shrugged and waited. Kai reached for the package, and untied the strings. He them laid it down on the ground and opened the folds. There was a map of a strange maze/forest thing, a few weapons, some glowing stones and a few other things needed for survival. Ray picked up a dagger and tested it out on the ground.  

"Why do we need these stuff?" he put it down and picked up a stone. It glowed without any kind of power source. "Strange."

"Huh? It's a map? Why do we need a map of a foreign place? Hey, here's a note: _travelers beware; keep this map, for it has the directions to make it out alive. There will be many challenges, so I suggest you to keep the weapons. If you ever want to see your friends again, Kai, strike the sword into the ground and say: take us to the forest of death. And if you do, you might not make it out alive, if you don't, your friends are dead. So I suggest you to choose carefully. And Kai, remember your training, it will come in handy here…"_

"My training?" Kai snarled. "That note…it has to be Voltaire who sent it! Him or Boris…" His eyes flashed with fury. "My training…more like my punishments for being alive…"

"So should we go?" Mariah asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Mariam whispered.

"Well I could-" Kai started,

"Lets go…" Rei said firmly, before Kai could suggest an idea about him going alone instead of having all 4 of them go in.

Kai frowned. He took a glow stone and gave it to Mariah. "Keep this near your ankle, it will heal in around 5 minutes."

"Alright, Kai here's the sword."

Kai took the gleaming silver sword and stabbed it into the earth beneath his feet. "Take us to the forest of death…"

A bright light shone from the sword, and all 4 closed their eyes. They felt the earth shift slightly beneath them. When they opened their eyes, it was a whole different place. It seems like they landed right in a giant creature's nest. The creature roared furiously and snapped his big jaws.

"So…got any ideas?"

---

Ryuki: AHAHAHA that was the worst chappie in my life. Man, my writer's block is really bad now. –Sigh- well, at least I got this chappie up. Didn't everyone seem OOC?

Kai, Rei, Mariam, Mariah: -nod furiously-

Ryuki: exactly my point. And wasn't that just terrible?

Kai, Rei, Mariam, Mariah: -nod furiously-

Ryuki: -sigh- well there you go. I had to do SOMETHING…jeez…I seriously need to brainstorm now…

Saki: You had a brain? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Ryuki: Ha, Ha, funny…now, I SERIOUSLY need my poison claws…The, I will be just like Sesshoumaru – INVINCIBLE!!!

Saki: - -; you better ignore her…

Ryuki: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!


	7. The Second Separation

Chapter VII

Disclaimer: If I owned Beyblade, then no Tyson lovers would ever watch it coz he'd die in the first episode… and if I owned Beyblade, Kikyo and Relena wouldn't exist. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

---

From last time

---

A bright light shone from the sword, and all 4 closed their eyes. They felt the earth shift slightly beneath them. When they opened their eyes, it was a whole different place. It seems like they landed right in a creature's nest. The creature roared furiously and snapped his big jaws.

"So…got any ideas?"

---

Mariah whimpered and Ray put a hand on her shoulders. "Are we even on earth?" he asked no one in particular.

"I doubt it…"

"Huh?" all 3 of them turned to look at Kai, who just shrugged. "Knowing my grandfather and his…group, I doubt we're in the real world. I think we're in is virtual world of the bit beasts." He said, not taking his eyes off of the roaring creature, which took steps nearer.

"World of the bit-beasts…" Mariam repeated numbly. "We're in a world where bit beasts are going to attack us like real creatures? This is nuts…is it even POSSIBLE?"

"What did I say? I believe 'question my judgment' was not part of it." Kai growled. He reached into his pocket to pull out a Beyblade, and got out dark Dranzer. Kai looked at it, frowned, and put it back. _Black Dranzer will do too much damage…_ he thought as he pulled out Surai. He put it on his launcher and let it rip.

"Surai! Get rid of this stupid thing…whatever it is…" Kai gave the order, which Surai gladly followed. He took out a dagger and stuck it into the big roaring creature's heart. The creature exploded into dust, dust that flied away. The spinning blade jumped back into Kai's hand. He turned to his friends, who stared at him with their mouths open.

"What are you idiots staring at?"

Ray whistled. "So, you kill them with a fight, bit-beast to bit-beast…sweet…"

Kai glared at his black-haired teammate. "No, it is not 'sweet'. It's a matter of YOUR strength. If you have power, then your bit-beasts become stronger. It is also important to have a strong bit-beast, of course. If your bit-beasts get too weak, then you will have to battle them yourself."

Mariah's eyes widened with suspicion. "Battle them yourself? With what?"

"It depends. If you have a weapon, like a dagger, or a knife, then you can use those. But if you don't…" Kai smirked "…you can either get dirty, or run." Mariah gulped.

"Come on you guys, we have to find the others, don't we?" Mariam called out from ahead; she started walking already. "Lets hurry up so we can get out of here sooner."

Mariah nodded and ran to catch up. Ray and Kai followed.

---

"AAAAAHHH…my freaking BACK!!!"

Ozuma opened his eyes after hearing a loud groan. He looked around; there was Joseph, Dunga, Tyson, Hilary, Kenny, Max, Kane and Salima. Tyson sat up and tried to rub his aching back without any success. Everyone stretched as they stood up. There were cracks as some cracked their knuckles, necks, or even backs.

"Where are we again?" Ozuma asked, and then he remembered: falling down the hole after Kenny…

"G-g-g-g-g-guys…" Kenny whined.

"Gosh Chief, relax…now what is it?" Tyson walked up Kenny and looked into his laptop.

"We're in another dimension! We're in this virtual world…Dizzy, tell them…"

"Well, according to my calculations – which are always right – we are in an semi-virtual world where bit beasts are almost real beasts…unless they are trapped in something…AKA laptops and Beyblades."

"And the free ones try to kill you?" Salima said.

"YES SALIMA! Wow, you are becoming smarter and smarter!" Dizzi beamed.

"No Dizzi…" Kane said. "There is a beast trying to attack us…"

Everyone slowly looked up as the beast headed towards the group.

"RUN!!!!" Max yelled, no one objected, except Joseph, Ozuma and Dunga.

"You said they were bit-beasts, right?" Ozuma asked.

"YES! And you better go too, if you don't want them to eat you alive!" Chief yelled from a distance away.

"Bit beasts can be killed by bit beasts…FLASH PANTHER!" Ozuma launched his black and red blade out, and a panther appeared. "ATTACK HIM!" Flash panther growled, and his body seemed as if it was on fire. He bit the giant dinosaur-like creature and flame engulfed both bit-beasts. The creature exploded into dust. Flash panther gave a final growl and returned into the blade.

"You catch on fast, young one," a voice said from what seems like the sky.

"Who are you?" Ozuma growled and looked around.

"You cannot find me, you are in my world. Therefore, I have the advantage."

"You must be the one who made that whole we fell through…" Joseph caught on.

"And you created this world…" Dunga guessed.

"Correct…Kai should see this…there is someone who is nearly as fast as him in the brains." The voiced chuckle evilly.

"And who are you, Kai's admirer?" Tyson scoffed.

"No I am his trainer."

"Trainer? Training in the local gym? Kai works out? He has a trainer for Beyblade?" Tyson snickered. "No wonder he is so good at athletic stuff…"

"Tyson, Tyson, Tyson, no wonder Kai hates you. Kai does not train at the gym, and he does not need a trainer for Beyblade. Good luck in the virtual world."

"WAIT!"

No reply.

"Thanks a lot, Tyson, I was going to ask him if Mariah, Ray, Mariam and Kai was here as well…" Kenny whined.

"Well, I say we go to start looking…" Kane offered and a few people nodded in agreement. Salima and Kane caught up with what was left of the Saint Shields, until Ozuma suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as part of his body started to disappear.

"What on Earth?" Dunga roared, as his hand seemed translucent. Joseph's body also started to fade away.

"OZUMA! DUNGA! JOSEPH! MOVE!!!" Max yelled, but it was no use. The 3 seemed as if they were frozen, paralyzed, not by fear, but by some invisible force. Ozuma looked at Tyson. "Get yourself out of here!" he yelled and disappeared totally. Dunga tried to move again, but was rewarded with his whole body disappearing. Joseph was long gone before the rest could say anything.

"3 more of them…" Hilary whimpered. "They are gone…"

"I wonder who is next…I know, lets stick together so if were in a trap, we'd to together…" Max suggested.

"No…" Kane said quietly. "That voice, he is the one who controls everything, which means if he wants, we'll be separate no matter what…"

---

Kai sensed something, as if it was to warn him. He knew what it was, for some reason…

"3 more are separate…" Kai said quietly in a subconscious manner. Mariam looked back at him.

"What?"

"3 more, the rest of the Saint Shields, they've been separated from the rest of the group…"

"How is that possible?" Mariah gasped.

Ray looked more puzzled then he was before. "How do you know?"

"I just…do…" Kai muttered. "It's like a 6th sense you develop if you've been in this world for a long time…"

"A-are they going to be ok?" Mariam asked cautiously, she didn't want to know the answers for some reason. She couldn't bear to realize that the rest of the saint-shields were in trouble, especially Joseph…her only family left in this world…

"They are going to be fine." Kai said confidently. He was sure that everyone, especially Mariam's little brother Joseph, was going to be fine. _Especially since they've mastered the fact that they have to kill the bit-beasts in order to survive._ Kai thought. He didn't say that out loud, in case the others thought of him as freakish.

"It's the others I'm worried about…I'm sure they are strong enough…but they might be separated, then Kenny and Hilary will be in danger, because they have no bit-beasts…and they can't fight physically." Rei said with a worried look on his face.

"No…" Kai said. "Voltaire and Boris, they don't plan to kill us, they plan to torture our minds…and separating us would be extracting the so-called 'fun'." Kai growled.

Mariah looked as if she just came out of a horror movie. "How could someone be so cruel?" she asked.

"They can…" Mariam said with newly found anger in her voice. The anger powered up her strength, which was just what they needed, especially with what Voltaire is going to send them… "Those monsters…they will pay…"

---

"Ozuma? Dunga?"

"We're right here."

Then came a grunt, which Dunga used to make sure that they knew he was alive.

The sun rose surprisingly fast, actually, it just popped onto the sky. "This world is weird…" Dunga said, observing the orb that just appeared in 5 seconds carefully.

"We got separated from the rest…" Ozuma said as he looked around where they were; grass that was up to his knees and the sea of green were as far as he could see.

"Great, we're stuck in the middle of a field of grass…" Joseph grumbled. "Joy…"

"Welcome, boys, you should be glad that you were chosen for this experience…" the voice said again.

"What do you think we are, lab rats?" Ozuma growled.

"To me you are." The voice chuckled.

"Bastard…" Dunga spat out.

"Now, the glory of the experiment…"

Ryuki: Hey! Well, that was a lot of talking…I got to start to re-plan the later chappies…considering I added some thing that weren't supposed to be there. Well, that's all…RR!


	8. Resting By The Lake

Chapter VIII

Disclaimer #1: twitch, twitch if I owned Beyblade…in G-revolution, the Neo Borg is the ones who win…and Beyblade tournaments would be worldwide in the real world! And all prizes would be Beyblades, and Dark Dranzer would be made, and Kai would be with Mariam, and-

Disclaimer #2: Ah shut up. Ryuki does not own Beyblade. You are so slow, number 1…

Disclaimer #1: At least I am number 1…now where was I? Yes…Beyblade battle song would be 'In the End' by Linkin Park…

---

"Kai, are you sure you know where we are going?"

The dark-haired girl frowned and looked at Kai, who walked slightly ahead of her. Mariam eyed their surrounding, there was a lake not far from where they were and they were currently walking on grass that was up to their ankles.

"Did I say I did, Mariam?" He replied coldly and kept walking; he didn't even slow down his pace. Mariam groaned at his rudeness. Kai ignored her and acted like they haven't said anything at all just 5 seconds ago. 

"So you don't know either?" Mariah's voice rang our from behind Kai, nervousness was building in the pink-haired girl's voice.

"Did I say that instead?" Kai said dully.

"Well, then, where are we going?" Ray asked.

"I haven't a clue."

Everyone fell, anime style.

"Kai, you are supposed to know, you've been here before…" Mariah whined, Kai turned around and glared at the annoying pink-haired girl, who pouted like a little girl.

"Ray, how do you put up with this brat?" Kai growled. "I thought you all got it already, Voltaire can change where we go at his will. So even if we go the other direction, Voltaire has us in the palm of his hands. So I don't see the point of knowing where to go or remembering what road we took. It's his world, so we have no choice of where to go. Now, have I made myself clear? Or do I have to spell all that out for you?"

"Kai, you know you don't have to jump down our throats for what we say, we are new at this, so we don't know as much as you do. Does it hurt to explain a bit?" Mariam said quietly to Kai, but it was audible to all 4. Kai didn't reply, all he did was look down and close his eyes. He stopped all of a sudden.

"We should take a rest…" Kai said, surprising all 4 of them, including himself, slightly.

"Take a rest?" Mariam repeated. "Number one, have you heard a word I just said? Number two, since when did you care if we were tired?"

"I don't." Kai replied and his eyes flicked towards the dark-haired girl. "It's just that even if we keep walking, we'll end up in the same place." He sighed and turned to walk towards the lake not far away. "If you guys heard me earlier and had some brain cells, you would understand all this."

"Well I guess we could take a break…" Ray tried to smooth things out, and walked over to Mariah, who thought a rest was a pretty good idea. Mariam sighed, and walked over to Kai, who was sitting by the lake already and was staring at space. She sat down beside him and studied his face. His features didn't betray any of his feelings.

"Kai…" Mariam began, but was interrupted.

"Forget it, Mariam, don't even try to tell me how rude I am." He looked at Mariam, and turned back to look at the surface of the lake. Mariam opened her mouth, as if to object, but closed it again, as if saying never mind. She turned to look at the lake as well.

They sat like that for quite a while, the silence was not uncomfortable for once, and it was actually peaceful.

"You know, I wasn't about to say how rude you were…" Mariam said softly, Kai turned to look at her, and her him. Mariam's eyes were sincere, Kai's eyes softened; he looked down at the grass.

"Then what?"

"This might be a bit personal…" Mariam hesitated. "What happened to you?" Kai was surprised at the directness of the question, he sighed. His eyes wore a look of pure hatred as he heard the name Voltaire.

"I was trained to be perfect. He expected nothing but pure perfection, and emotions only got in the way of it all…" Kai started. "Him and Boris, they think one with no emotion does not have as much obstacles, therefore, they are better in survival and life. But I wasn't the perfect student, I still felt pain whenever they tested me. I was trained along the lines of 'survival of the fittest; you can kill, or be killed.' I had to kill all my emotions in order to pass…I did, at last, but they were still dissatisfied. They wanted to torture me, so they sent me here afterwards. Alone." Kai remembered the feeling of being soaked in his own blood. He remembered the pain that Boris and Voltaire gave him at the abbey. He remembered the dizziness of blood loss, and everything was so clear, as if it happened yesterday. He winced at the memory of it…

Mariam looked at Kai, re-living his past from his memory. She saw the pain flash across his face for a small moment, before it was pushed down. She reached out and touched his arm, as if to comfort him slightly. He winced once again at her touch. _It must have been painful…Voltaire; he is Kai's grandfather, was he not? Why did he…?_

Kai closed his eyes and stood up. He walked away from Mariam; she must think he is pathetic. He was pathetic. What was he thinking, spilling all of that to a girl? What would they understand? Kai touched his blue tattoos on his face. It was a sign, a sign telling that he was emotionless. It was true; he had destroyed all of his emotions a long time ago…

Then, what was this new feeling that he was getting?

---

Voltaire looked at the screen with pure disgust; Kai told that girl all of that, without any hesitation once he started. He and Boris had trained Kai personally not to have any emotions; he could not afford to have any. Once he inherits the Hiwatari family's properties, he would need to rule it as Voltaire did. If Kai were as much of a failure as Kai's father, then the Hiwatari family would become hopelessly poor in knowledge and ability to survive in the real world…

_That would be taken care of later. For now, I need to experiment on those small brats. What were their names? Ozuma, Joseph and Dunga? Yes. That is it. _Voltaire smirked. _This is going to be quite interesting…_

"BORIS! Get ready to launch the beast…I have to personally talk to Kai…"

"Yes Voltaire…"

---

"Kai…"

Kai's eyes opened immediately. "Grandfather…"

"Ah, I see you still remember me, Kai…"

"How could I forget…?" Kai said with poison in his voice.

The voice chuckled. "Well, Kai, it happens so that you forgot how to control what you say. I am disappointed that you said all that to that girl…Mariam…Do you want to explain yourself?"

"No…" Kai knew what Voltaire was going to send him…his punishment…

"No? Very well…your punishment will be here soon…but for now, I must take care of some things…Its been nice talking to you, Grandson, I hope you wont be as much of a failure as your father…"

"My father?"

"Yes, Kai, he was not capable of taking care of the Hiwatari family possessions. That is why I trained you so hard."

Kai's eyes narrowed: as if those training were lessons to survive in the real world. _Voltaire is probably making this up to trick me, nice try grandfather. _Kai smirked. "Right, grandfather, I understand."

"I am sure you do, Kai."

Kai walked away from where he was talking to his grandfather. He returned to find Ray, Mariah and Mariam cooking fish over fire by the lake. Rei smiled at his friend. "Care to join us? I hope you like sea food…"

---

"So, boys, ready for your experiment?" a new voice, different from last time, said. This one sounded younger and more dangerous, if possible.

Dunga, Ozuma and Joseph looked up and found…nothing, again. The voice was coming from nowhere, yet it was there.

"I am Boris, and I will be in charge of you destruction…"

---

Ryuki: Well, there it is…I missed Beyblade for this, so it better be worth it!!!!! Oh yeah, please if you want, you can send in descriptions of bit-beasts to my review or by email. I am NOT good at making up these things…but if you don't, I suppose I'd have to anyways…sigh Sorry if Voltaire and Boris are OOC, coz I've never watched the whole season one…;

There are the bits and scraps of fluff in this fic…well, not fluff, more like…friendship that will TURN into fluff. Just to tell you, I SUCK at writing action with fluff. So either action, or fluff, and I'm sticking with action, coz its supposed to be about action, this fic. I'm babbling again…well, Review!


	9. The Third Separation

Chapter IX

Disclaimer: If I owned Beyblade, there will be no hint or any motivation for yaoi fics…no offence to all of u who likes yaoi…;

NOTE: If you didn't read the fixed version of chap. 1, Ryusei and Dark Ryusei are Mariam's two new blades given to her by her village's chief. They are griffins.

---

_Now to test those little brats' mental strength…I think I will separate that big group of idiots…_Voltaire smirked and pressed a button on his screen that had the letter S on it…

---

"This is so boring…"

"Well, it's not my fault that we all got here…"

"Yes it is, chief. You waved your arms, remember?"

"Well, that was a warning to get AWAY from where I was."

"Oh? Last time you said it was to come over here. So what else does it mean?"

"Lets see…hello, goodbye, come here, be careful, I am insane, shooing away a fly, trying to catch air…"

"And we are supposed to know which one because…?"

"Ah, get some common sense, Tyson."

"Oh, I would be talking if I were you. You are here as well, aren't you?"

"…Shut up…"

A snicker was heard, followed by a 'bang' and a 'what did I do to you?'.

Kane and Salima watched the 4 argue as they tried to make the most out of walking in the middle of what seems like a dessert. They fell into another trap, led by chief trying to 'warn them' and…yeah.

Suddenly a low rumbling sound from behind them and the shaking of the ground made all of them turn.

"What now?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You are the genius here…"

The rumbling got louder; now the ground shook as if there were giant earthworms inside trying to fight their way to the other end. Salima frowned. "Somehow, I feel like this isn't going to be pretty…"

"Well, it is always good to sharpen your senses, right?" The voice said from above, and once again, out of nowhere. Tyson groaned.

"You again?"

"Yes, and this time, I brought some friends to keep you company. And in return…I'll just take a few of you."

Hilary gasped, "You wouldn't…!"

The voice chuckled. "Oh, believe me, I would. Now, meet my friends, the army of Cyber Cerberus!"

"Cyber Cerberus? They made a cyber version of Cerberus? Gosh…" Max looked at the approaching army. "They are pretty fast…"

"Aren't they?" the voice gave a dry, evil laugh, sending shivers down the teens' spines. "Enjoy, while you," His fingers turned to Salima, "You," He pointed at Hilary, "And you," Max gasped, "Come visit me. Say goodbye to your friends…"

A black hole appeared out of nowhere, Salima, Hilary and Max's body started to look fuzzy and unclear. "Wait!" Tyson yelled as the 3 chosen ones got sucked into the hole, which disappeared right after it claimed its prize.

"Salima…Hilary and Max…they are gone…" Kane said slowly, trying to take in the terrible loss.

"No…! We were separated again!" Kenny cried, falling on his knees.

"They are gone…" Tyson said, his voice hollow.

---

"Another separation…has been complete…" Kai muttered. The 4 of them were sitting and looking at the stars when Kai revealed the horrible news.

"Oh no!" Mariah sat up, her eyes wide. "Do you think Hilary and Kenny got separated? They don't have a bit-beast! They will be in danger!"

"Remember what Kai said?" Mariam said bitterly, her back against the trunk of a tree. "Voltaire won't put the weak all together…he only wants to see the suffering of us mentally, so I don't think Hilary nor Kenny are in any trouble now."

"I am worried about Kenny the most…" Ray sat up; he used one of his arms to remain in that position. "I mean, Kenny has a lot of information on…well…everything. That means Voltaire will probably go after him."

"For once, I agree completely…" Kai said, also sitting up. "But first, I think he is going to send something to us…we were in peace for way too long…"

"Is that…a bad thing?" Mariah asked slowly, hoping the answer was not too bad.

"Yes, it is a bad thing. That is why I said 'we were in peace for way too long', not 'I am so glad that we are finally in peace'."

Mariah sighed, and looked back at the night sky. Mariam gave a glare at Kai, who sat with his eyes half closed. She sighed and looked at Ray, he was just sitting cross-legged, thinking. She glanced at Mariah, who didn't remove her stare from the sky. She growled.

"Don't tell me we are just going to relax here and do absolutely nothing!" Mariah said, her voice rising slightly. "Isn't there anything we can do at all? I do not believe that we are just stranded here with nothing to do. This is way to…relaxing."

"Exactly my point, we've been in peace for too long." Kai said in an annoyed tone, his eyes flickered towards Mariam. "Would you rather walk endlessly instead? I made that mistake before, and I will not make the same mistake twice."

Mariam sighed; there was no point of arguing with someone who knew more than you. "If it helps, Voltaire is going to send an army of cyber bit-beasts to attack us…" Kai glanced at Mariam briefly, who just smiled and closed her eyes.

"Is that an invitation to have a beybattle?" She raised an eyebrow.

"This is off topic, I know, but…have you realized," Ray said cautiously, "that we have been moving nearer to that mountain? I could swear that when we sleep, the mountains move nearer…"

"Are you sure, Ray?" Mariah asked, and looked towards the direction of the mountains.

"It won't move that fast, idiot…" Kai growled to the pink-haired girl. Ray sighed and prepared to break up another fight between his 2 friends. Surprisingly, it didn't happen.

"I KNOW that…I am not looking at the mountains…" She said, pointing. She jumped up. "There they come…"

"Kai…here is your punishment…" Voltaire's voice rang out from the sky. "It is also a test for your control over Black Dranzer."

"What makes you think I am going to use Black Dranzer for this?"

"Because it is the only option you have…"

Kai growled and he reached for his Dranzer and his launcher. "Lets see about that, shall we?" With a swift motion, he put the Beyblade on the launcher and pulled the ripcord.

"LET IT RIP!!!"

The blue blade spun out towards the coming army of bit-beasts. Mariam took one look at Kai and reached for one of her blades. A strange warm glow came from one of them; Mariam felt that one was the right one. She pulled it out.

"Ryusei? I don't even know how to control this one!" Mariam cried out, but before she had any time to switch blades, a cyber Dragoon charged at her. She groaned and put the blade on the launcher as fast as she could.

"LET IT RIP!!!"

She pulled the ripcord as hard as she could. The blade came down with a thud and sparks jumped from the bottom. "RYUSEI!" Mariam called out to the bit, hoping that it would listen to her, just until she got rid of those beasts charging at her. A griffin jumped out from the center of the blade in a navy/violet glow. The griffin gave an eagle-like shriek and stretched its wings.

_Please, please, please, please let this work!_ Mariam pleaded silently. The Griffin looked at Mariam with its sharp eyes. Mariam looked back at it with confident in her eyes, hoping that it would look more convincing than how she felt. Ryusei closed its eyes and charged at the cyber Dragoon. It dug its claws into the Dragoon's chest. Sparks jumped over the Dragoon and it exploded.

"Thank you!" Mariam sighed with relief.

---

"DRIGGER!!! TIGER CLAW ATTACK!!!"

"GALUX, SCRATCH ATTACK!!!"

The green and pink beasts charged towards the section of cyber Draciels. The pink cat jumped swiftly to the beasts, swiping her sharp claws at them. The green tigers did the same. Around Mariah and Ray, smoke from explosions surrounded them.

---

"DRANZER!" Kai roared as the phoenix screeched and swooped over the army of cyber bit-beasts, spreading fire where it went. As the fire burned, cyber bit-beasts exploded because of the heat. But more and more just keep coming. By no time, all of them were weary of the fight. A group of cyber bit-beasts jumped onto Dranzer, holding it down. Dranzer screeched in pain, his feathers red from both the fire and blood. Kai looked up, scratches and cuts covered him. A sticky red substance covered him and it dripped to the ground.

"I can't let Voltaire win…" Kai said through gritted teeth. Drops of blood leaked over his eyes onto his lashes, blocking part of his vision. "I CAN'T!! DRANZER!!! SPIRAL SURVIVER!!!!"

Dranzer responded with a screech and a burst of flames. The phoenix spread its wings and fire burst out all around it. It burned all the enemy bit-beasts around him and made them explode.

Kai fell onto his knees. He panted as sweat dripped down his temples, sweat mixed with blood. This was too tiring; he can't take much more of this. As he was about to collapse, a hand stretched out in front of him. Kai looked up: it was Mariam.

"Come on, we can't just give up." She said with strength in her voice, even though she was all bruised and cut up herself. Kai nodded and stood up without Mariam's help. With newfound strength, Kai and Dranzer continued to fight the cyber bit-beasts.

"Dranzer! Lets get rid of that group!" Kai called out, Dranzer responded. Behind Dranzer ran Ryusei, Mariam's new bit, who was not exactly the most obedient.

"Ryusei! Catch up with Dranzer!" Mariam called, Kai cannot do that alone, he barely had any more strength left. Ryusei snorted and headed for another group in the other direction. Mariam gritted her teeth.

"RYUSEI!"

The griffin sensed the power in Mariam's voice and stiffened. It turned and headed after Dranzer, but not before clawing and killing a few of the beasts that were in front of him…

---

Voltaire sighed. Kai was simply too stubborn to use Black Dranzer. He would have to try another way…Dranzer was powerful, yes. But Kai needs to learn to control Black Dranzer and use it casually as he does with Dranzer.

"That's enough for today…" He said to Boris, who was controlling the systems. Boris nodded and pressed a red button. On the screen, he saw all of his cyber army disappear without a trace.

---

Ryuki: That was a bit of action. I am not sure if it is too corny…but that's ok. Should I change the title of this fic? I think I should. I am not sure though…HELP!!!


	10. Afterbattle Reactions and What Ifs

Chapter X

Disclaimer: My disclaimers have become a 'if I owned Beyblade…' thingy…you know, from kindergarten: 'If I could bring a pet home from the zoo…' -.-; So, I'm going to say this directly, I don't own Beyblade.

---

_The last thing I remember was fainting…then, blackness…_

_Where am I?_

Kai wrenched his eyes open slowly. He groaned as he felt sticky substance on his forehead, sticking his hair together. His hands flew up to feel the stickiness and came down stained with red. Gritting his teeth, Kai pushed himself up until he was sitting. He looked around at the mess that the battle created. Mariam, Mariah and Rei were also unconscious. Mariah and Ray were close to each other, and Mariam was alone on the other side. Kai stood up slowly and stretched painfully. He walked over to Mariah and Rei slowly and checked their breathing; they were just fine. He then went to Mariam and put his hand over her mouth to check her breathing. She was breathing shallow breaths. Kai checked her pulses and they were fine. Relieved, he carried her over to where Ray and Mariah were.

Feeling slightly better, Kai dived into the lake with everything on, hoping to be rid of the discussing substance in his hair and on his skin. He floated in silence in the water as he looked up to the sky.

_Why do you torture me like this, grandfather? Why do you expect me to do all that? Why can't you just leave me be?_

---

First came the soreness of her body…

Then the stickiness of her skin…

Someone was watching…

Mariam's hands formed a fist as she opened her eyes, scanning for any trace of the cyber bit-beasts from the battle. All she saw was ruins that were either slashed, burned, or ripped apart.

Mariam sat up and turned around to face Kai, who was sitting nearby on a rock, thinking, staring into space. His hair was slightly wet and dripping with water. His clothes were damp, as if he just jumped into the lake a while ago.

"Hey…" She said weakly.

"Hey…" He replied subconsciously. 

Sighing, Mariam turned to Ray and Mariah. They were both stirring. She stood up slowly and walked over to the lake. She felt the coolness of the water and frowned. She looked at her friends – Kai was in la-la-land and Ray and Mariah were still sleeping. She bit her lip and wandered off to find a private spot to wash herself.

(A/N: To all you people who are perverted, no I am not going to make Kai see Mariam…-koff, koff- Hentais…)

---

"Kai…?"

Silence…

"Kai-"

Silence…

"Kai!"

Silence…

Mariam sighed as she tried to wake Kai from his trance with no luck at all. Ray and Mariah had woken and went to clean themselves up as well. (A/N: SEPARATELY!!!) She stared at Kai, studying him. His hair had dried off now, and his eyes were hollow. Blinking, Mariam leaned in closer, so she could see those eyes properly. They were truly hollow, as if he had no soul. Mariam crawled over to behind Kai turned around and leaned against his back. She took out her blade; the bit chip twinkled.

"Ryusei…" Mariam whispered and closed her eyes.

"You know…it isn't normal talking to yourself," a voice said dully. Mariam jumped, turned and leaned over to see Kai with his head propped up on his hand.

"Well, at least I wasn't at la-la-land for like…6 hours…" Mariam shot back.

"I was thinking…not talking to myself…thinking is normal the last time I checked…talking to yourself isn't…" Kai mumbled.

"Not if you do it for 6 hours without stopping to even blink…" Mariam scoffed. Kai turned to glance at her with dull eyes and went back to staring at air. Sighing, Mariam stood up and brushed herself. She leaned over and pinched Kai.

"Ow…" He said dully and sarcastically. Mariam frowned. She poked his arm with her sharp nails. He acted like he never felt it.

"Seriously, I like you better when you were a jerk. Now you aren't talking at all!" Mariam said sharply. Kai shrugged lifelessly.

---

"We've been walking for days…"

Max ruffled his blond hair and complained as Salima and Hilary decided to take a small break from all the walking. Hilary gave him one of her death glares.

"Too bad, you blade breakers are supposed to be tough…" She said simply. Her voice gave a hint to Max that sort of told him that it was end of discussion or end of his life. Max shut up.

Salima groaned.

"Max is the only one who is used to his bit beast. I have one, but I am not as good with it. Hilary is without any tools at all…oh what will we do?" She stomped the ground. "We haven't eaten in like…2 days, and we only took drinks from the stream, who knows what could be in it?"

"Lets go fishing!" Hilary exclaimed. Salima glared.

"Fishing…?"

"It is food, isn't it?" Max asked as his eyes lit up. "And we can use either Draciel or Dancer to light a fire…I love barbecued fish…"

"Anything is fine…" Hilary said softly and the others agreed.

"Draciel is related to water, is he not?" Salima raised an eyebrow at Max, whose eyes widened.

"He can help!"

---

"Tyson, eat something…" Kenny said in his usual whiny voice. "You might get sick! You have been like this for the whole time that Hilary, Salima and Max has been gone!"

"Tyson…" Kane said in a serious voice. "They will come back. When they are, they don't want to see you dead. Understand?"

Tyson looked at Kane. "Really?" He asked weakly. "You really think they will be back?"

"Yes!" Kenny exclaimed. "And if you break down, you will do exactly what Boris and Voltaire wants you to do. So come on…" Tyson nodded and smiled.

"It is not like you to be all…weak and sad. You usually have hope, and you usually never turn down food." Kane joked.

"It is strange alright…" Kenny said. "In fact, this whole thing is strange. How can we get hurt if this is a virtual world? And how can we get hungry? If this is all virtual, then how can we even eat the food?"

"I hate it when your bad news make sense, chief." Tyson said.

"Oh no!" Kenny yelled. "I just had a bad thought!"

"Don't you always?" Kane said jokingly. Kenny gave a rare glare of death.

"What if this is not a virtual world? What if…"

---

Ryuki: Cliffhanger…he-he…well, I hope this is all right. Nothing really happens here, but I just felt like writing it. Sigh it's ok if you despise it…I might start polishing things up a bit. Oh yeah, the name changed into Virtual sacrifice: a Kai and Mariam story. All right? All right. Ja!


	11. Wandering and Approaching Danger

Chapter XI

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Beyblade…don't own any known anime actually…I'm only a fan…sad, huh?

TEAM NEO BORG is actually the DEMOLITION BOYZ, but I like Neo Borg better…

---

"You know, experiencing stuff on humans is wrong…but leaving us in suspense is even worse!"

Dunga growled as he stomped on the ground, for there was nothing else around for him to stomp on.

"Relax, Dunga, let some of that hot air out or you will explode…" Joseph commented, Dunga glared.

"You are acting like Mariam…" He grumbled. "Ozuma, you're the leader, say something!"

Ozuma looked back at his 2 fighting teammates and sighed. It used to be Mariam against Dunga. Since now that Mariam is gone, Joseph personally took the job as his own. They have been waking none stop in a never-ending field of grass where possibly every single type of bug is alive.

"Stupid mosquito…I swear…I want to kill them but they are just too small!" Dunga growled as he slapped a mosquito, but it just flew out of the palm of his hand after taking a nice drink of blood.

"I told you to put on your hood. Did you listen? No." Joseph nagged.

Dunga looked exasperated. "You sound like Mariam too much!"

"I am her younger brother…" He smirked. Dunga scowled.

"Hey guys look!" Ozuma said suddenly after 5 minutes of silence.

"What?" Both Dunga and Joseph asked, dully.

"Are any of you thirsty?" Ozuma said as he pointed ahead of him. Joseph rushed ahead to see and came back after a minute, excited.

"There's water! Finally, something besides grass and bugs!" He whooped. Ozuma smiled and even Dunga started to cheer. Or as close as it gets.

"I think we should follow the stream. Just incase we run out of water or any other food?" Ozuma suggested. They agreed; it was the best idea they've got.

"But first…" Joseph said, taking off his shoes. "I think a swim would be nice…"

"You'll pollute the water with your stench." Dunga laughed, fidgeting with his own.

"It beats bugs…" Ozuma shrugged and tugged off his shoe. They dove in.

---

Kai's eyes sprang open.

"Hey sleeping beauty, I see you have awoken from your trance." Mariam said sarcastically as she poked at the fire that was in front of her.

"I just had…a feeling…" He said slowly; his voice contained a teaspoon of excitement. But a teaspoon was enough for the other 3 to know that something was up.

"What is it?" Ray asked as he bent down and sat beside Mariah, who was on the opposite side of Kai if the fire was the center.

"They…they are near."

"Who are 'they'? Enemy? Allies? Rescuers? Superman? Voltaire? Boris?" Mariah guessed blindly, not quite trying anyways.

"The rest of the Saint Shields…they are close by."

Mariam glanced at Kai. "Are you sure?" She asked with disbelief.

Kai nodded. Mariam blinked, a speck of excitement in her eyes. Kai, however, did not look too happy still.

"What else?" Mariam said, knowing that was not all.

"The Saint Shields…are not all who are coming…Team Neo Borg are also on their way here…"

"Oh no…" Both Ray and Mariah gasped. Mariam looked at them, puzzled.

"Team…Neo…Borg?" She repeated. "Who are they?"

"You do the honors…Kai…" Ray said slowly. Kai sighed. Mariam made a motion for him to go on.

"Team Neo Borg is a group of bladers created by Boris." Kai spat out the name as if it was poison. "I was once one of them once, but, anyways…they include Tala, Ian…"

---

"What you said cannot be true." Tyson said firmly as he looked at the other's faces. Kane seems to find that it makes sense, and it was chief's idea.

"Can it?" He asked, slightly unsure of himself this time.

"Only if we had someone who has more knowledge about these stuff…" Kenny grumbled.

"You mean, if only Kai was here so we can squeeze all the information out of him?" Tyson said loudly.

"No, I doubt we will be able to in the first place…" Kane sighed and looked at Kenny, who was looking at Tyson, who was looking at Kane. They were all searching for an answer, and hoping that the other had it.

But they didn't. None of them did. Except, perhaps, Kai.

---

Burp

A sound of a hand colliding against someone's head was heard as a nervous laugh sounded. Max rubbed his sore head as Salima laughed at Hilary's annoyed expression.

"You are sick, Max. I swear: if it were possible, you and Tyson are twins." Hilary scowled. "The world's hands are already full with one Tyson."

"No, not twins…" Salima said. "Twins are ones who look alike…they are split-lings, they act alike and they are alike inside, but they look different. It matches, doesn't it?" Salima laughed.

"It matches so much that it is scary." Hilary replied, slightly exaggerating.

"Aw come on, I am not that much like Tyson." Max said, almost whining. He received a glare from both Salima and Hilary and he gulped. "Am I?" He added shakily.

"Yep." They both replied in unison. Max shrugged and put his hands behind his head.

_This is well; we've been relaxed for some time now. Perhaps Boris and Voltaire are busy with the others…its like the devil's arithmetic, one who is safe means one who is in danger. Who am I becoming? Maybe I should just forget this whole thing and enjoy the peace we have now._ Max thought as he slowly paced around.

"What's wrong now?" Salima asked as she noticed how Max was pacing and looking nervous.

"I don't have a good feeling about this…for some reason." Max said slowly and quietly.

(A/N: well, you are right, Maxie. Ugh, I hate that nickname…)

"Did you miss me?" A voice called out. It was evil and it sounded awfully familiar to Max.

"Boris…" He said, his voice slightly shaky.

"AH, I love that fear in your voice." He chortled evilly. Max frowned and tried to swallow his fear.

"Who is this moron?" Salima asked, confused.

"Allow me to introduce myself to a lady such as you. Poor child, never will get to be an actual lady…but that's all right. I am Boris. I am the darkness and your nightmares."

"Ha, if I saw you, I'd probably get nightmares of your ugly face." Salima sneered. Max bit his lip.

"Erm…Salima…you might want to watch what you say…" He whispered.

"Yes, yes, listen you your friend Max. I might not have a tongue as sharp as yours, but I do have the ability to rid you of that tongue. So I'd be careful if I were you."

"Hey, I know you, you're the freak that Tyson told me about!" Hilary exclaimed, proud that she remembered. But they she frowned. "Aren't you the one who organized the theft of all the world's bit-beasts?"

"Tyson, Tyson, he has such a big mouth…" Boris tusked. "Did he tell you that I was the one who created Kai?"

"…No…"

"Well, perhaps he doesn't have as good of a memory as I though. What a shame…" Boris taunted. Salima obviously had enough of this.

"Alright, why are you here? To chat, I doubt it. To get to know us, I doubt it too. Now what is your purpose?" She demanded.

"Curiosity…it can get you into knee-deep shit." Boris growled at Salima, who was surprised at his sudden change in manners. Boris chuckled. "Now, I am here to lead you into either insanity, or death…I don't know…which one is more fun?"

"You disgusting idiot!" Hilary gasped.

(A/N: you know, I could include really bad swearing in here…but it is Pg-13 and I know some little kids read these kinds of fic. The only thing that stops them is the sign RATED R and that doesn't work sometimes. So I'm not going to include anything. Nod)

"Now…I think…I'll go with…"

---

"How long will it take before they get here?" Mariam asked, suddenly realizing how dangerous this world can be.

"What do I look like, a radar? A 'Team Neo Borg' reporter pin pointing the exact location of them?" Kai snorted. Mariam glared.

"You are the only one who knows that they are coming, so I just asked. Is that a sin?" She grumbled. Kai opened his mouth to make a witty comment when Ray interrupted.

"Alright you too…" He said loudly. Kai and Mariam glared daggers at him, a drop of sweat ran down his face as he backed away. "Second though, you continue your idiotic bickering."

Mariam sighed.

"Have any ideas why they are coming?" Mariah changed the subject.

"What else?" Kai said quietly. "They work for Boris, don't they?"

---

Ryuki: Yay, another chap. I'm not supposed to be here, but that's ok. You'll be surprised how fast you can blab and type.


	12. Traveling Suspicions and The Meet

Chapter XII

Disclaimer: Ok, the Disclaimer is really getting tiring…I mean, we all know I don't own Beyblade, right?

NOTE: I'm still using the dubbed names for the Team Neo Borg. I don't quite like Tala's Japanese name…

---

Tala, Ian, Spencer and Bryan jumped down the last rock from the mountain. They were walking silently for a while now, and it seems like their invisibility devices were working fine. Boris and Voltaire does not know where they are at all, it is all part of their plan. Their only worries are Kai, with his supernatural instincts of this world. They hoped to arrive and confront the others before Voltaire and/or Boris finds out, before Kai finds out and decide to take them still as lackeys of Voltaire.

However, Tala had a feeling that more people than they had intended know about their arrival. The others did as well. Kai must have told his friends.

For once, the Team Neo Borg did NOT want the people they were chasing after to run in fear. It was unlikely for Kai to run with his tail between his legs, but who knows what his friends want. Especially the obnoxious and weak Tyson with his idiotically happy Max – they were weak and scared. Tala frowned as he stumbled upon a rock. He kicked it and sent it flying through the air.

"Are they running?" Ian asked quietly as he kept his head on the ground ahead of him.

"No." Spencer answered simply.

"Do they seem like the type of people who would run away in fear of us, Kai and his team?" Tala asked dully.

"Well, I don't know about Kai, but the rest of his team, yeah." Ian smirked.

"Kai is not with his team, remember?" Bryan said, and they jumped a bit, for he remained quiet all the way until now.

"Oh yeah, that shit…" Ian grumbled.

Tala sighed. "This might take a long while to reach them. I mean…" He zoomed his vision and looked at the four tiny dots.

---

"Are you SURE you want to go towards the mountains?" Kai asked Mariam, whose mind was already made up. There was no point of saying that, but he said it, just incase a miracle happens and Mariam changes her mind.

"Yes! We've been in the SAME place for like…a week or more! Plus, the mountains have been inching closer, so Voltaire must have planned something for us. We are now in good health, so I say we just get the stupid thing over with." Mariam crossed her arms stubbornly.

"I actually agree with Mariam." Mariah said. "Why not get it over with and return to the real world? One of us might get sick later."

"That is true…" Ray said thoughtfully. He shrugged. "I'll be ok with both of them."

"I personally do not mind. But knowing my grandfather, the 'thing' to get over with might not be as casual as you think." Kai said as he closed his eyes.

"True…" Mariam said slowly. "But still…we should go there."

"Oh yeah…Team Neo Borg is heading from that way." He added hastily.

Ray froze. "They are headed from that way? How-"

"I have no clue." Kai answered before Ray could finish his question. Ray blinked.

"Well, I still say we head that way, and finish them on our way." Mariam suggested.

"They are not THAT easy to beat…" Mariah said, she remembered how Kai stole her whole team's bit-beast, and how one of them defeated Kai.

"Well, it's better now than later." Mariam closed her eyes.

Kai stood up and dusted himself off. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He shrugged and started to walk towards the mountains.

"Did…he just…agree with you?" Ray and Mariah looked stunned as they each raised an eyebrow.

Mariam shrugged. "He knows he can't win…" She smirked and followed him. Ray and Mariah shook their head with disbelief, but followed anyways.

---

"They…are walking towards us?" Ian said as a wave of disbelief washed over his features. Tala nodded.

"Zoom in on the four dots, and then use the distance calculator, you'll find them walking closer." Tala said. "Though, you might need to be patient for the movement to show, because the calculator rounds off the numbers."

Ian did as Tala told him, and he turned to use his mental calculation and detector. After around 5 minutes, he gasped.

"They are!" He said. "Why would they want to walk towards here?"

"There are many possibilities." Spencer said. "They could be either continuing their walk from earlier days, trusting their instincts, realized that Voltaire wants them to go there…" He paused. "Or, Kai knows we are here, and they're coming to confront us."

"Or all of the above…" Bryan added. Spencer nodded.

Tala sighed.

"I guess we will have to run into them sooner or later…its good that they save us the trouble of reaching them." Tala said.

"Yeah, but they still look at us as enemies." Ian pointed out. "If they try, they WILL defeat us."

"However…" Tala said towards Ian. "We didn't come to fight. Plus, we ARE their enemies…only…trying to go against Voltaire."

"That, or we are helping our former teammate." Spencer said.

Tala looked into space. "I guess…it would be fair to say both…"

---

It's been nearly a week of walking for the 4 of them. They were all pretty tired of walking around in the now dry and boring area.

Kai frowned – he had a strange suspicion that the Neo Borg now knows that Kai and his friends are approaching while eating 5 nights ago. His sense tingled and settled right after they started walking. It was obvious that one of the dangers stopped for a moment, and hopefully, more than a moment. But what he did not know was which danger stopped…it could be the Neo Borg, or perhaps an army of bit beasts sent by Voltaire…or even another danger. Kai frowned – the dangers that were in this world that they knew of were enough…if another one comes…

Kai wasn't sure if the group could handle it…He wasn't sure if HE could handle it. Kai sighed; his eyebrows took a dip. He crossed his muscled arms and he closed his grey eyes. His two-toned hair danced in the slight breeze that passed by. _Should I tell the others about this?_

_No…I don't want to worry them further. This is more than they could take…I should have left them in the other world and went by myself…that way, the others wouldn't be hurt in any way. I would be risking my life…but…_

_Life comes cheap…_

Kai's eyes darted to peak at the others – Ray was silently walking with a frown plastered on his face as well. He was also biting his lips and it was obvious that he was hesitating. Mariah was wearing a stubborn look; her lips formed a small pout. She grunted and sighed. It looked like she was bored and uncomfortable with all this silence. Kai shook his head and turned to look at Mariam. She was walking silently, her ponytail was coming loose, but she didn't seem to notice. She blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes and her eyes burned with hate for – as Kai guessed – Voltaire for separating her team and causing pain for all of them.

Kai looked up at the clouded and grayish-blue sky. It looked like the color blue, lost in a sea of sadness…confused by the smoke and the sea of grey. Kai sighed deeply and looked down again.

Mariam, who was first in their little walking group, stopped. She turned sharply and looked at Kai. "What is wrong with you?" She asked, not in an accusing way, but more concerned. Kai looked up, slightly surprised for the outburst.

"Nothing." Kai mumbled. "Why'd you ask?"

Mariam laughed dryly and sarcastically. "And you'd think we wouldn't realize it if you kept on fidgeting and gawking at us?"

"I didn't realize." Ray said blankly.

"Neither did I…" Mariah admitted.

Mariam ignored the two. "You are nervous and guilty…do you have something to tell us?" She asked suspiciously.

"No." Kai lied, acting as if there was nothing on his mind that would bother him. "Why would you think that?"

Mariam looked at him with disbelief and sighed. "I just said, you were fidgeting, gawking at us, acting nervous and guilty."

"I don't gawk…" Kai said, stressing the 'gawk'.

"You do so!" Mariam declared, but shook her head. "Nice attempt, changing the subject."

"Why thank you." Kai replied. Mariam groaned.

Ray and Mariah watched the two bicker, amused. "You two sound like you were married…" Ray commented.

"Zip it." Both Kai and Mariam growled, causing Ray to take a step back, raise his hand and laugh nervously.

Kai turned away. "There isn't anything I want to talk about." He said; his voice telling them that was the end of the argument. He started to walk again towards the mountain, which was not very far now. A few hours should do it.

When Kai revealed the fact, Mariah looked at Kai with horror. "Still a few hours? You call that NOT VERY FAR?"

"Yeah." Kai looked at Mariah dully.

"A few more hours of walking in this condition?" Ray looked around and the environment now: dry, reddish dust on the ground, grey gloomy sky, there were bushes here and there and mud puddles here and there. No water was around and no animals were to be seen.

"Well, it is better than a few more days, weeks, months…or even years." Mariam shuddered.

"I doubt the mountain was a few years off, unless you were a turtle. Voltaire…" Kai paused as images of Voltaire's torture and so called 'lessons' flashed in his mind. Kai winced. "He's not into that kind of torture for us." Kai said as his hands formed a fist; his nails dug into his skin.

Hearing Kai's new philosophy about Voltaire and Kai's reaction, the rest of the group fell silent. They knew that whoever angers Kai next wont wake up nicely the next day. The information was kindly provided by Tyson, who claims to have personal experience. Chances are, he probably did.

The few hours passed by quite slowly, especially since they were in hot dessert grounds. But after 3 hours or so, they approached a more grassy area. Well, there was nothing except grass…and bugs…lots of bugs.

Out of nowhere, Kai sighed with confusion, causing the three to look at him with confusion.

Kai glared at his companions, but his eyes weren't as cold as before. "What? Can't a guy sigh without being conspicuous?"

Mariam's eyes narrowed. "Sure…you were just sighing because you were BORED."

Ray shrugged. "He could be…"

Mariah looked down to the ground again. "Something feels…strange…" Her eyes went back to Kai. "Tell us…what happened? I KNOW something happened…what is it?"

Kai looked away. "It's nothing. Only, we'll be reaching the team sooner than we planned."

Mariah frowned, and looked away again.

Mariam sensed the same thing; she kept her eyes on Kai. "That's not it…is it…"

Kai shrugged. "I'm not quite sure myself…to be honest…"

A thick coat of silence floated around for what seemed forever. The thickness was broken when Ray all of a sudden froze. "Guys…" He said slowly as he looked ahead. 4 small figures were in the distance. They could be trees, but they were moving. But it was unsure because of the distance and the fact that Kai, Mariam, Mariah and Ray couldn't see that far.

But somehow, Kai confirmed it.

"It's them…" He said darkly as the figures approached. The 4 stopped and without planning it, in unison, all 4 placed their hands on their launcher and Beyblade.

As soon as the team Neo Borg and the 4 were close enough to hear each other perfectly, a smirk played with Tala's lips. Kai's eyes darkened as his head lowered. His grip on his launcher tightened.

Then, to Mariah, Ray, Mariam, and especially Kai's surprise, Tala closed his eyes and raised both his hands. "I come in peace."

---

Ryuki: Yeah, another chapter. It sucks, just like the rest of my chapters. - -; I have 12 chapters and around 40 reviews. Only. That's kind of pathetic…my friend has 7 chapters and over a hundred reviews…TT I feel so stupid…

Anyways…still…here's another chapter for the lost reason out there…


End file.
